IP39120 - MILITARY AND DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA

Module Identifier	IP39120
Module Title	MILITARY AND DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Lucy Taylor
Semester	Semester 2
Course delivery	Lecture	8 Hours (8 x 1 hour)
	Seminars / Tutorials	16 Hours (8 x 2 hour)
Assessment	Essay	1 x 2,500 word	50%
	Exam	2 Hours (pre-released)	50%

Aims

The course focuses on the problems and dynamics of political change in post-war Latin America. The course seeks to show how historical events not only have immediate repercussions but also have an impact on contemporary politics. Moreover, it aims to highlight how the difficulties faced by fragile democracies are rooted in the history of violent power transitions and the political norms of violence and coercion which these establish.

Objectives

The module will give students an understanding of the following:

The origins of the post-war crisis: the conflict between economic and political elites and the powerless and impoverished sectors which clamoured for political recognition and economic improvement; the subsequent rebellion and repression; the Cuban Revolution and its impact on Latin American politics.

Elite solutions to the "threat of communism" and their outcomes: reformist military in Peru and Sendero Luminoso; right wing military in the Southern Cone and the eradication of "communism"; civilian/military alliances in Central America and guerrilla movements; stable democracy, limited pluralism and persistent inequality in Venezuela.

The retreat of authoritarianism and problems of democratisation: democratic consolidation in the Southern Cone; enduring crisis of democracy in Central America; human rights and the military; military restriction of democracy; authoritarianism resurgent in Peru; survival of socialism in Cuba.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Skidmore and Smith. Modern Latin American (3rd Edition).
Wynia. Politics of Latin American Development (4th Edition).