Browsing by Subject "latin america"

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Classifying Political Regimes in Latin America, 1945-1999.
(Studies in Comparative International Development, 2001) Mainwaring, Scott; Brinks, Daniel M; Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal
This article is about how political regimes should generally be classified, and how Latin American regimes should be classified for the 1945-99 period. We make five general claims about regime classification. First, regime classification should rest on sound concepts and definitions. Second, it should be based on explicit and sensible coding and aggregation rules. Third, it necessarily involves some subjective judgments. Fourth, the debate about dichotomous versus continuous measures of democracy creates a false dilemma. Neither democratic theory, nor coding requirements, nor the reality underlying democratic practice compel either a dichotomous or a continuous approach in all cases. Fifth, dichotomous measures of democracy fail to capture intermediate regime types, obscuring variation that is essential for studying political regimes. This general discussion provides the grounding for our trichotomous ordinal scale, which codes regimes as democratic, semi-democratic or authoritarian in nineteen Latin American countries from 1945 to 1999. Our trichotomous classification achieves greater differentiation than dichotomous classifications and yet avoids the need for massive information that a very fine-grained measure would require.
Classifying Political Regimes in Latin America, 1945-2004
(Oxford University Press, 2007) Mainwaring, Scott; Brinks, Daniel M; Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal
Commentary: Social and Economic Rights in Latin America: Constitutional Courts and the Prospects for Pro-poor Interventions
(Texas Law Review, 2011) Brinks, Daniel M; Forbath, William
From legal poverty to legal agency: establishing the rule of law in Latin America.
(Organization of American States, 2009-03) Brinks, Daniel M
The History of US Writing Centers and the Emergence of Writing Centers in Latin America: An Interview with Neal Lerner
(2017) Molina-Natera, Violeta
Especially in the last five years, writing centers have begun to emerge in Latin America. They resemble the sense and philosophy of writing centers in the United States but with an identity that is still developing. As part of the summer course “Writing Center History, Theory, Research, and Administration,” led by Dr. Rebecca Babcock at the University of Texas of Permian Basin, I interviewed Professor Neal Lerner, one of the leading scholars of writing center theory, history, and administration. My aim in conducting this interview was to consult Prof. Lerner’s expertise to try and understand the development of this field in the United States and compare it with recent trends in Latin America. Dr. Lerner is associate professor at Northeastern University, where he is the director of the Writing Program. He has won the International Writing Centers Association Outstanding Scholarship Award five times. Two of his books have also won awards. The Idea of a Writing Laboratory won the NCTE David Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English in 2011. Also, along with his coauthors Mya Poe and Jennifer Craig, he won the CCCC Advancement of Knowledge Award in 2012 with the book Learning to Communicate as a Scientist and Engineer: Case Studies from MIT. He is co-author with Paula Gillespie of The Longman Guide to Peer Tutoring, a recognized book for training writing tutors. He was editor of Writing Center Journal from 2002 to 2008 with Beth Boquet. Currently he is working with Michele Eodice and Anne Ellen Geller in a cross-institutional study of undergraduates’ most meaningful writing projects (http://meaningfulwritingproject.net). This interview took place via Skype on June of 2016 and was recorded for transcription. It has been edited for clarity and readability.
Inequality, Institutions, and the Rule of Law: The social and institutional bases of rights.
(Kellogg Institute, 2008-08) Brinks, Daniel M
This article elaborates and tests a theory connecting the high levels of inequality in many Latin American states to the failure to develop mechanisms to effectively protect and enforce formal rights enshrined in constitutions and laws. I argue that, in order to become effective, rights require the development of a network of ancillary supporting institutions, both formal and informal. Both engaging with these supporting institutions and developing them in the first place requires resources which many marginalized groups simply do not have. I apply the theory to data on the prosecution of police violence, as well as to a more general overview of legal and constitutional developments in the region.
Money for Monos: An Analysis of the Payment for Environmental Services Program in the Osa Peninsula
(2015-05) Norriss, Jessica; Doolittle, William E.
Wildlife conservation and agriculture are often seen as conflicting activities, particularly in tropical forest environments. Focusing on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, this paper demonstrates that such topics need not be thought of in terms of mutual exclusivity. Additionally, this paper explores the ways in which rural Costa Ricans think of and interact with the primary forests and how they cultivate the land, either for personal use or for commercial agricultural practices. The Payment for Environmental Services Program (PES) is used as a framework to analyze the intersections of political, social, and economic ties to land. The PES program has existed since the mid 1990s and has the potential to revolutionize the way governments and, in turn, people value the ecosystems and wildlife. Costa Rica implemented the world’s first program on a national scale in which land users are compensated for various environmental protection efforts. This ranges from reforestation to strictly conservation of existing forested areas. Funded by taxes, international donors, and down-stream benefactors, PES is a voluntary service that promotes poverty alleviation, carbon sequestration through forest conservation, as well as increased water quality and availability. Costa Rica’s programs, unlike other countries, implements both forest conservation and water quality provisions. The social and economic implications of these programs have been written about extensively, justifying the theoretical and economic frameworks that underlie the payments. However, the claimed environmental benefits and socioeconomic impacts have yet to be thoroughly reviewed. Using an ethnographic approach, I triangulate the stakeholders, government officials, tour guides, and farmers. Additionally, spatial analysis through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provides a comprehensive view of the policy, economic, and cultural factors affecting wildlife management and preservation.
Requests for Abortion in Latin America Related to Concern about Zika Virus Exposure
(2016-07-28) Aiken, Abigail R.A.; Scott, James G.; Gomperts, Rebecca; Trussell, James; Worrell, Marc; Aiken, Catherine E.
With the rapid emergence of Zika virus throughout Latin America and its association with microcephaly, requests for access to abortion medications through online telemedicine have increased in countries where access to safe abortion is not universally available. On November 17, 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an epidemiologic alert regarding Zika virus in Latin America. Several countries subsequently issued health advisories, including cautions about microcephaly, declarations of national emergency, and unprecedented warnings urging women to avoid pregnancy. Yet in most Latin American countries, abortion is illegal or highly restricted, leaving pregnant women with few options.
The Role of Courts and Constitutions in the New Politics of Welfare in Latin America.
(Cambridge University Press, 2013) Brinks, Daniel M; Forbath, William
'A tale of two cities': The judiciary and the rule of law in Latin America
(Routledge, 2012) Brinks, Daniel M