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"The state can be defined, following sociologist Max Weber's (1946 [1919]: 78) classic formulation, as a "human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory." In other words, the state is an organization, differentiated from society, that is distinguished from other organizations in that it relies on the use, and the threat of the use, of coercion. It does not plead with citizens to follow the law - for example, by paying taxes. It commands citizens to do things and can coerce them to do these things. The state is a powerful organization, and it wields a kind of power that is distinct from that of economic and cultural organizations. Photo 1.2 connects this definition to the related concept of the Leviathan. We can use Weber's definition of the state to distinguish between communities that have states and stateless communities, which include communities with less specialized and elaborate political organizations such as bands, tribes, and chiefdoms (Service 1971). However, Weber's definition of the state encompasses city-states, empires, and modern states or national states - currently the dominant type of state around the world, including Latin America (Tilly 1990; Mazzuca 2021). Thus, to specify what a modern state or national state is, we should note that, in addition to meeting the criteria of Weber's definition, it has some features that neither city-states nor empires have. In contrast to a city-state, a modern state rules over several cities and rural populations; that is, modern states rule over large territories. In contrast to an empire, a modern state rules over a national population that has a political allegiance to the state but not over colonial subjects; that is, modern states rule over populations that share a common status as nationals of a country. See Figure 1.1 for a visual representation of these distinctions"--

"Trade agreements have uncontested relevance as essential instruments governing international trade, yet little attention has been directed towards explaining differences in their content. Deep Integration in Latin American Trade Agreements analyzes the structure, nature, and characteristics of deep integration in trade agreements established by Latin American countries after the crises of 1982 and until 2020 with their regional and extra-regional partners. Ninfa M. Fuentes Sosa argues that deep integration can be disaggregated into its institutional, operative, and horizontal dimensions (which differ regarding their functions and application level). Empirically, she demonstrates that trade provisions can be mapped, measured, and allocated into their corresponding dimension, providing an understanding of the deep integration structure in Latin America. She claims that the current structure poses challenges for deepening regionalism at a broad scale. Countries working on specific areas over time could diminish obstacles that have prevented them from achieving deeper trade integration. Providing an operational definition and measures of deep integration, this book will be of great interest to scholars, graduate students, and policymakers working in the field of international political economy, trade and trade politics."

"This volume offers a comparative analysis of the role of the military in Latin America in domestic politics and governance after 2000. Divided into four parts covering the entirety of Latin America, the book argues that the Latin American military as semi-autonomous political actors have not faded away since 2000 and may even have been making a comeback in various countries. Each part outlines scenarios which effectively frame the various pathways taken to post-military democratic society. Part 1 critically examines textbook cases of political demilitarization in the Southern Cone, Peru, and Costa Rica. Part 2 contrasts the role of the military in the post-2000 politics of two regional powers: Brazil and Mexico. Part 3 examines the political role of the military facing 'violent pluralism' in Colombia and the Northern triangle of Central America. Finally, Part 4 identifies country cases in which the military have been instrumental in the rise, sustenance, and occasional demise of left wing revolutionary projects within Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. Latin American Military and Politics in the 21st Century will be of interest to scholars, students and professionals in the fields of Latin American History, International Relations, Military Studies and studies concerning democracy, political violence and revolution in Latin America elsewhere"--

Introduction: The Latin American military and politics in the 21st century / Dirk Kruijt and Kees Koonings -- Peru - The armed forces in search of a place in the world / Martín Tanaka -- Chile - A democracy with semi-autonomous armed forces: a history of civil-military relations since 1990 / Jaime Baeza Freer and Francisco Rojas Aravena -- Uruguay - the military and politics in the twenty-first century: the chronicle of a conflictive relationship / Constanza Moreira -- Argentina - The re-invention of the armed forces in the face of the challenge of demilitarizing the nation-state / Sabina Frederic -- Costa Rica - The de-militarization of politics: an exceptional story / Luis Guillermo Solís -- Brazil - The military and politics at the end of the 'new republic' / Celso Castro -- Mexico - The armed forces : revolution, one-party rule, and the uncertainties of democratization and insecurity / Wil G. Pansters -- Guatemala - The sword of Damocles : deficient civilian control and relative military autonomy / Bernardo Arévalo de León -- El Salvador - The armed forces in politics : support and tutelage / Alberto Martín Álvarez -- Honduras - The militarization of politics or the politicisation of the military? The armed forces in times of political crisis, corruption, drug trafficking and the covid-19 pandemic / Leticia Salomón -- Colombia - Civil-military relations in the twenty-first century / Armando Borrero -- Venezuela - The osmosis between the dominant political party, the military and the public administration / Dirk Kruijt -- Cuba - The Cuban armed forces : from revolutionaries to entrepreneurs / Rut Diamint and Laura Tedesco -- Nicaragua - The changing ethos of the Nicaraguan army : from a revolutionary army to an advocate of democracy and, finally, a financial emporium and silent accomplice to the new dictatorship / Roberto Cajina -- Bolivia - The armed forces and the crisis of the plurinational state of Bolivia : neoconservatism versus the popular movement in the twenty-first century /Jhohan Oporto -- Military officers for democracy : the OMIDELAC in the 1970s and 1980s / Raúl Vergara Meneses -- Conclusions - Latin America's new civil-military politics / Dirk Kruijt and Kees Koonings.

1. Introduction -- 2. Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance Convergence in Building a Labor Level Playing Field Across Latin America -- 3. The Movement of People in the Pacific Alliance in Chile -- 4. Preserving Domestic Autonomy: Weak Migration Laws and the Mercosur Strategy of Limited Integration -- 5. Building Territories in Urban Settings: Family Networks of Indigenous Peoples in Argentina's Hinterland -- 6. Theoretical and Methodological Contributions to Social Mobilization in the Context of Globalization. A Case Study of Mexico 2010-2015 -- 7. The Use of Technologies to Control Irregular Immigrants in Tapachula, Chiapas -- 8. Migrant Agricultural Laborers in Mexico: Transforming the Marginal Consciousness through Education -- 9. Correlation Between Violence and Forced Migration in Mexico -- 10. A Critical Approach in Forestry Cities in the Chilean Case -- 11. Conclusion

"Legislatures, the judiciary and civil society are important actors in representative democracies. In what ways and how well do they represent? And how effectively do they carry out their institutional and social roles? Both questions refer to the key dimensions of democracy analyzed in this book: representativeness and effectiveness, respectively. While they have been developed separately in scholarly work on institutions and regimes, there is little work considering them simultaneously, and on their interaction. Using quantitative and/or qualitative methods, contributions from top scholars in the field of legislatures, the judiciary and civil society examine these two concepts and their relationships in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Designed to guide the reader through the complexities of this debate, each expert engages in a larger set of theoretical debates about different approaches to representation in each sphere. In doing so, they debate how effectively these spheres carry out their roles in each country: whether a congress is institutionalized, its accountability, and its performance as a lawmaker; whether a judicial system is independent, carries out oversight, and protects citizen rights; and the role of civil society in a representative democracy. Representation and Effectiveness in Latin American Democracies is a timely and welcomed contribution to the to the growing debate about the quality of democracy in Latin America, and the developing world more generally"--

This book accounts for and analyses the latest developments in Latin American presidential democracies, with a special focus on political institutions.

The stellar line-up of renowned scholars of Latin American politics and institutions from Latin America, Europe, and the United States offer new insights into how democratic institutions have operated within the critical context that marked the political and social life of the region in the last few years: the eruption of popular protest and discontent, the widespread distrust of political institutions, and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. Combining different methodological approaches, including cross-national studies, small-N studies, case studies, and quantitative and qualitative data, the contributions cluster around three themes: the problem with fixed terms and other features of presidentialism, inter-institutional relations and executive accountability, and old and new threats to democracy in these times of turmoil. The volume concludes with an assessment of the political consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America.

Beyond current scholars and students of comparative political scientists, Latin America in Times of Turbulence will be of great interest to a wide spectrum of readers interested in comparative systems of government, democracy studies, and Latin American politics more generally.

This new Handbook is a comprehensive collection of cutting-edge essays on all aspects of Latin American Security by a mix of established and emerging scholars. The Routledge Handbook of Latin American Security identifies the key contemporary topics of research and debate, taking into account that the study of Latin America's comparative and international politics has undergone dramatic changes since the end of the Cold War, the return of democracy and the re-legitimization and re-armament of the military against the background of low-level uses of force short of war. Latin America's security issues have become an important topic in international relations and Latin American studies. This Handbook sets a rigorous agenda for future research and is organised into six key parts: - The Evolution of Security in Latin America - Theoretical Approaches to Security in Latin America - Different 'Securities' - Contemporary Regional Security Challenges - Latin America and Contemporary International Security Challenges With a focus on contemporary challenges and the failures of regional institutions to eliminate the threat of the use of force among Latin Americans, this Handbook will be of great interest to students of Latin American politics, security studies, war and conflict studies and International Relations in general"--

"Hugo Chavez won re-election in the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election, despite a closer margin between candidates than in previous elections. The results were puzzling for those who believed that Chavezs government had long ago reached its limits, while Chavezs supporters were struck by the growth of the opposition vote. Thus understanding the Venezuelan election of 2012 has proved to be challenging, with various recent studies focused upon it. Luis F. Angosto Ferrandezs book advances two ideas not previously discussed: the relationship between electoral behavior in Venezuela and contemporary Latin American geopolitics, and the way that relationship is projected through the candidates appeal to narratives that situate Venezuela at the core of a heroic Latin American tradition and of a new regional process of integration. This edited volume first contextualizes and explains the results of the last re-election of Hugo Chavez in terms of its geopolitical conditionings and implications. Contributors tackle Latin American geopolitics by analyzing Venezuelan foreign policy and the countrys role in continental projects of supra-national integration. Contributors also examine electoral strategy and tactics in order to show how the two main candidates built their campaign on emotional grounds as much on rational ones. This will be connected to the investigation of new narratives of national identification in contemporary Venezuela and how they may have practical implications in the design of policies addressing issues such as indigenous rights, community media and national security.Compiling state-of-the-art research on Latin American and Venezuelan politics, this book will appeal to academics and professionals who specialize in Latin American studies, international relations, democracy, and indigenous peoples"--