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53032. Democratic Politics in Latin America: New Debates and Research Frontiers
- Author:
- Gerardo Munck
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Studies, University of Southern California
- Abstract:
- This assessment of research on contemporary democratic politics in Latin America is organized around the distinction between institutional and alternative approaches. Initially it considers institutionalism on its own terms and, through an assessment of the debate about the institutional causes of gridlock, draws attention to key strengths of this literature. Thereafter, some of the limitations of an institutional approach are addressed and the possibility of combining insights developed from institutional and alternative theoretical perspectives is emphasized. The suggested terms of integration, however, are not symmetric. With regard to causal theorizing, the need for institutionalists to borrow ideas, especially from the broader literature on political regimes, is underlined. With regard to theorizing outcomes, in contrast, the need for students of the quality of democracy to incorporate contributions made by institutionalists is highlighted. Throughout, various pointed suggestions to advance research are offered.
- Topic:
- Democratization and Government
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, and North America
53033. Picking Up the Pieces: Comparing the Social Impact of Finacial Crisis in Mexico and Argentina
- Author:
- Manuel Pastor and Carol Wise
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Studies, University of Southern California
- Abstract:
- After a committed process of macroeconomic stabilization that began during the mid-1980s in most of Latin America, many observers began to speak of the need for a “second generation” of reforms that could more firmly establish the bases for economic growth and correct for longstanding distributional inequities. By the mid-1990s serious reformers like Argentina and Mexico seemed to be on the cusp of tackling this distributional backlog by launching so-called second phase market reforms meant to correct for earlier shortcomings in the social realm (Naím 1995; Pastor and Wise 1999). However, in both cases, financial crises erupted: Mexico's crash of December 1994, which saw a forty percent devaluation of the peso and a massive outflow of portfolio capital; and, more recently, Argentina's 2002 meltdown, which while simmering since the Brazilian devaluation of 1999, finally caused the country's commitment to a fixed exchange rate to be abandoned.
- Topic:
- Economics and Government
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Argentina, South America, Latin America, North America, and Mexico
53034. Why Delegate the Allocation of Foreign Aid to Multilateral Organizations? Principal-Agent Problems and Multilateralism
- Author:
- Helen Milner
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Studies, University of Southern California
- Abstract:
- Why do countries delegate the distribution of foreign aid to international institutions? Specifically, why have the advanced industrial countries chosen to distribute part of their foreign aid through multilateral organizations, such as the European Union (EU), World Bank, IMF, UN, and regional development banks (RDBs)? The delegation of aid provision to an international institution is puzzling. Why would governments relinquish control over their aid if they are a useful instrument of statecraft? Governments delegate aid delivery to international institutions when their publics lack information about the consequences of aid and fear that their governments will deviate from their wishes concerning its use. By using the international organization to send aid, the government issues a credible signal to voters about the use of foreign aid. This signal leaves all actors better off by helping to solve a principal-agent problem in domestic politics. When publics are skeptical about the benefits of aid, governments are more likely to turn aid over to multilateral organizations in order to reassure taxpayers that their money is being well spent. Using data on about 20 donor countries of the OECD from 1960-2000, I investigate the sources of multilateral giving, showing that public opinion has the expected negative relationship to multilateral aid-giving.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe and United Nations
53035. The Bombardier-Embraer Dispute and its Implications for Western Hemisphere Integration
- Author:
- Jonathan P. Doh
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- Government subsidies are a pervasive problem for international trade and economic development. Subsidies distort investment decisions, generally squander scarce public resources, skew public expenditures toward unproductive uses, unfairly discriminate against efficient industries and firms, and prompt wasteful overconsumption of some products over others. Despite efforts to limit subsidies through trade and investment policy disciplines, subsidization remains a constant on the global trade policy and international business landscape.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, Central America, Caribbean, and North America
53036. Managing Canada-U.S. Relations in the Post 9-11 Era: Do We Need a Big Idea?
- Author:
- Donald Barry
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- The remarkable growth of Canadian-U.S. economic integration, combined with the security implications of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, have brought the management of Canada-U.S. relations into sharp focus. The most important challenge facing Canadian decisionmakers is how to respond to the new security environment while ensuring the uninterrupted flow of people and commerce across the 3, 989-mile common border. The dimensions of the challenge became apparent in the immediate aftermath of September 11 when the United States temporarily closed its borders in reaction to the attacks. Quick action by the Canadian government led to the “Smart Border Declaration” in December 2001, to secure the border while facilitating the flow of low-risk people and goods. Since then, Ottawa and Washington have been working to flesh out the principles contained in the declaration and to bolster other aspects of their cooperation.
- Topic:
- NATO and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United States, Washington, Canada, and North America
53037. Canada and the Future of Continental Defense - A View from Washington
- Author:
- Dwight N. Mason
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- The United States and Canada have had a long and successful defense relationship. This relationship is based on a shared understanding that North America is a single military theater and that each country has an obligation to the other for its defense. Over time this basic understanding had led to a steady expansion and deepening of our defense relationship and the creation of a number of institutional arrangements to manage it. One product of these arrangements has been a partnership style of continental defense management that has proved to be successful despite the disparities in resources and responsibilities and, sometimes, the policy differences between our two countries. This structure is now beginning to be threatened by the decline in the resources and capabilities of the Canadian Forces. Nevertheless, there are things that both countries separately and together could do to improve the situation.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United States, Washington, Canada, and North America
53038. Radical Groups in Mexico Today
- Author:
- Gustavo Hirales Morán
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- Since January 1, 1994, the day when the armed uprising of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation (EZLN) was announced, it has been evident that Mexico is facing a second generation of radical organizations. The first generation, dating back to the 1970s, consisted of armed groups made up mainly of students, rural classroom teachers, and campesinos (i.e., subsistence farmers and agricultural workers along with their families). This generation's choice to pursue armed struggle revealed a trio of influences: Cuba's experience, socialist ideology, and the outrage and indignation produced by the repression and crackdown on nonviolent avenues of political opposition unleashed under the governments of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964–1970) and Luis Echeverría Álvarez (1970–1976).
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, North America, and Mexico
53039. Canada as a Minor Ally: Operational Considerations for Relations with the United States
- Author:
- Christopher Sands
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- Good morning. I want to thank the organizers of this year's Canadian Crude Oil Conference for bringing me out here to join you today. Albertan hospitality is hard to beat, and for a kid from Detroit, I am happy to say that I had the chance to live here as a temporary Albertan one summer. My Dad is a professor of geography and urban planning, and one summer our family relocate d to Alberta while he researched a book on the patterns of suburban development in four cities: Edmonton, Calgary, Phoenix, and Houston. It was a great adventure for me, especially camping and hiking in Banff and Jasper. You will get a sense of how long ago this was when I tell you that my souvenir from that summer was a t-shirt with Chewbacca, C3PO, and R2-D2 posing with a bear.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy and Environment
- Political Geography:
- United States, Canada, and North America
53040. North American Economic Integration Policy Options
- Author:
- Earl H. Fry
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- At the end of 2003, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will have been in effect for a decade, and although the accord will not be fully implemented for another five years, almost all of its important provisions are already in place. The model for NAFTA was the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA), which was put in motion in 1989 and was to be fully implemented within 10 years but was superseded by NAFTA after only five years in operation. NAFTA itself has created the world's largest free-trade area, encompassing the United States, Mexico, and Canada; 21.3 million square miles of territory; 422 million people; almost $12 trillion in yearly production; and $615 billion in annual three-way merchandise trade. North American trade, investment, government-to-government, and people-to-people exchanges have increased dramatically over the past decade and decisionmakers in Washington, D.C., Mexico City, and Ottawa will soon have to consider whether continental economic integration should move to the next level in the form of a customs and monetary union or even a common market possessing many of the attributes of the European Union (EU).
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Central America, North America, Mexico, and Ottawa