Waves of Democratization and Authoritarianism in Latin America

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The proposed panel will examine the waves of democratization and authoritarianism that have swept Latin America since the beginning of the 20th century. We seek to explain what factors led to the first and third waves of democratization as well as to the waves of military coups that toppled Latin American democracies at various points in the 20th century. To what extent were these waves governed by similar dynamics? We explore the roles that international factors, including diffusion and the Cold War, as well as domestic factors, such as political institutions, inequality, and class and intra-elite conflict, played in these trends. The papers use diverse methodologies to explore these ideas, including comparative case studies, medium-n qualitative analysis, and large-n quantitative analysis.

Sub Track

• Democratization

Individual Presentations

• Inequality, Distributive Conflict and Regime Change during the Third Wave - Robert R Kaufman, Rutgers University

• Toppling Governments: Waves of Military Coups in Latin America - Fabrice E Lehoucq, University of North Carolina/Greensboro

• Elite Origins of the First Wave of Democracy in Latin America - Raul L Madrid, University of Texas/Austin

• Latin America's Coup Wave of the 1960s/70s: Diffusion and Counter-Diffusion - Kurt G Weyland, University of Texas/Austin

Discussant

• Frances Hagopian, Harvard University