Deconsolidation of Democracy in 21st Century Latin America

Authors

  • Karol Derwich Jagiellonian University, Kraków

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.81.01

Keywords:

democracy, consolidation, deconsolidation, crisis, Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The first decades of 21st century are a difficult time for Latin America and the Caribbean. This is also evident in the area of democracy and its consolidation. Particularly recent years have brought significant problems and challenges in functioning of democratic regimes. As a consequence, it is justified to talk about the process called deconsolidation of democracy in this region. In the article, the present condition of democratic regimes in Latin America and the Caribbean is presented. It is followed by an analysis of basic challenges and finally explaining potential risks for the process of consolidation of democratic regimes in the region.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Karol Derwich, Jagiellonian University, Kraków

PhD in political science, head of the Department of Latin America (2019‑2022) and the Mexican Center (2018‑2022) at the Institute of American Studies and Polish Diaspora of the Jagiellonian University. His main fields of interest included inter‑American relations and Latin American politics. Prof. Derwich has authored such books as The Instruments of the United States’ Foreign Policy Towards Latin American Countries, 1945‑2000 (2010) and In the Country of Quetzalcoatl: A History of Mexico from the Conquest to Present Times (2014); co‑editor of Mexico in the 21st Century: Politics, Economy, Society (2009) and Los derechos humanos en America Latina. Teoria y practica (Human Rights in Latin America: Theory and Practice, 2014). He has also written numerous articles related to contemporary political processes in Latin America.

References

Bederke P., International Day of Democracy: Pandemic Challenges, at https://v‑dem.net/weekly_graph/international‑day‑of‑democracy‑pandemic‑chall.

Braga M. do Socorro Sousa, Avila Casalecchi G., “Legitimidad y compromiso democrático.

Impases contemporáneos en América Latina”, Anuario Latinoamericano: Ciencias Políticas y Relaciones Internacionales, vol. 7 (2019), pp. 213‑230, http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/al.2019.7.213‑230. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17951/al.2019.7.213-230

Chayes S., Corruption and State Fragility, US Institute of Peace, 2016, at https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/Fragility‑Report‑Policy‑Brief‑Corruption‑and‑State‑Fragility.pdf.

Colburn F.D., Cruz S. A., “Latin America’s New Turbulence: Trouble in the ‘Northern Triangle’”, Journal of Democracy, vol. 27, no. 2 (2016), pp. 79‑85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2016.0024

Corruption Perception Index 2019, Transparency International, at https://www.transparency.org/files/content/pages/2019_CPI_Report_EN.pdf.

Democracy Index 2006: A pause in democracy’s march, The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007.

Democracy Index 2020: In Sickness and in Health?, The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2021.

Diamond L., “Breaking Out of the Democratic Slump”, Journal of Democracy, vol. 31, no. 1 (2020), pp. 36‑50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2020.0003

Drapalova E. et al., Corruption and the Crisis of Democracy: The Link between Democracy and the Weakening of Democratic Institutions, Transparency International, 2019, at https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep20482#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Figueroa Ibarra C., “America Latina en el umbral del posneoliberalismo”, Metapolitica, vol. 12, no. 59 (2008), pp. 55‑60.

Freedom in the World Report 2019, Freedom House, 2019, at https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Feb2019_FH_FITW_2019_Report_ForWeb‑compressed.pdf.

Freidenberg Andrés F., Saavedra Herrera C., “La democracia en América Latina”, Segundo Semestre, no. 30 (2020), pp. 1‑42, https://doi.org/10.35242/RDE_2020_30_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35242/RDE_2020_30_1

Galston W.A., “The Enduring Vulnerability of Liberal Democracy”, Journal of Democracy, vol. 31, no. 3 (2020), pp. 8‑24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2020.0042

Global Corruption Barometer: Latin America and the Caribbean 2019 – Citizen’s Views and Experiences of Corruption, Transparency International, at https://www.transparency.org/en/publications/global‑corruption‑barometer‑latin‑america‑and‑the‑caribbean‑2019.

Goldfrank B., “The Latin American Left’s Missed Opportunity to Deepen Democracy”, Journal of International Affairs, vol. 71, no. 1 (2017), pp. 147‑160, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26494369.

Gómez Tagle S., Sonnleitner W., Mutaciones de la democracia. Tres décadas de cambio político en América Latina (1980‑2010), México 2012.

Grassi D., Memoli V., “Democracy, Political Partisanship, and State Capacity in Latin America”, Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica, vol. 46, no. 1 (2016), pp. 47‑69, https://doi.org/10.1017/ipo.2015.25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/ipo.2015.25

Hartlyn J., Schoultz L., Varas A. (eds), The United States and Latin America in the 1990s: Beyond the Cold War, Chapell Hill 1992.

Hershberg E., Rosen F. (eds), Latin America after Neoliberalism: Turning the Tide in the 21st Century?, New York 2006.

Huntington S.P., Trzecia fala demokratyzacji, transl. by A. Dziurdzik, Warszawa 1995.

Informe 2018, Latinobarómetro, at www.latinoabarometro.org.

Levitsky S., Way L.A., “The New Competitive Authoritarianism”, Journal of Democracy, vol. 31, no. 1 (2020), pp. 51‑65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2020.0004

Linz J.J., Stepan A., Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post‑Communist Europe, Baltimore–London 1996.

Manzetti L., Blake Ch.H., “Market Reforms and Corruption in Latin America: New Means for Old Ways”, Review of International Political Economy, vol. 3, no. 4 (1996), pp. 662‑697, https://doi.org/10.1080/09692299608434376. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09692299608434376

Morales S., Morales O., “From Bribes to International Corruption: The Odebrecht Case”, in: Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 9, no. 3 (2019), https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS‑07‑2019‑0201. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-07-2019-0201

Mounk Y., Lud kontra demokracja. Dlaczego nasza wolność jest w niebezpieczeństwie i jak ją ocalić, transl. by K. Gucio, Warszawa 2019.

Munck G.L., “Building Democracy… Which Democracy? Ideology and Models of Democracy in Post‑Transition Latin America”, Government and Opposition, vol. 50, no. 3 (2015), pp. 364‑393, https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2015.2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2015.2

Nunes F., Melo C.R., “Impeachment, Political Crisis and Democracy in Brazil”, Revista de Ciencia Politica, vol. 37, no. 2 (2017), pp. 281‑304, http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/s0718‑090x2017000200281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-090x2017000200281

O’Donnell G., Contrapuntos. Ensayos escogidos sobre autoritarismo y democratización, Buenos Aires 1997.

Panizza F., Miorelli R., “Populism and Democracy in Latin America”, Ethics and International Affairs, vol. 23, no. 1 (2009), pp. 39‑46, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‑7093.2009.00188.x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.2009.00188.x

Reid M., The Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America’s Soul, New Haven 2007.

Sabet D.M., When Corruption Funds the Political System: A Case Study of Honduras, Woodrow Wilson Center, 2020.

Smith P.H., Ziegler M.R., “Liberal and Illiberal Democracy in Latin America”, Latin American Politics and Society, vol. 50, no. 1 (2008), pp. 31‑57, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548‑2456.2008.00003.x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-2456.2008.00003.x

Stavrakakis Y. et al., “Contemporary Left‑Wing Populism in Latin America: Leadership, Horizontalism, and Postdemocracy in Chávez’s Venezuela”, Latin American Politics and Society, vol. 58, no. 3 (2016), pp. 51‑76, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548‑2456.2016.00318.x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-2456.2016.00318.x

Toledo A., “Democracy with Development”, Journal of Democracy, vol. 21, no. 4 (2010), pp. 5‑12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2010.0018

Whitehead L., “Alternative Models of Democracy in Latin America”, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, vol. 17, no. 1 (2010), pp. 75‑87, https://www.jstor.org/stable/24590758.

Wiarda H.J., Dilemmas of Democracy in Latin America: Crises and Opportunity, Lanham 2005.

Wike R. et al., Globally, Broad Support for Representative and Direct Democracy, Pew Research Center, 2017, at https://www.pewresearch.org/global/wp‑content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/Pew‑Research‑Center_Democracy‑Report_2017.10.16.pdf.

Wolff J., “Towards Post‑Liberal Democracy in Latin America? A Conceptual Framework Applied to Bolivia”, Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 45, no. 1 (2013), pp. 31‑59, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X12000843. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X12000843

Zucker Boswell N., Rose‑Ackerman S., “Corruption and Democracy”, Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, vol. 90 (1996), pp. 83‑90, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272503700085827. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272503700085827

Downloads

Published

2022-12-28

How to Cite

Derwich, Karol. 2022. “Deconsolidation of Democracy in 21st Century Latin America”. Politeja 19 (6(81):15-42. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.81.01.