Mexico's Politics and Society in Transition


Book Description

An exploration of the interrelated trends of Mexico's transitional politics and society. Offering perspectives on the problems on the Mexican agenda, the authors discuss the politics of change, the challenges of social development, and how to build a mutually beneficial US-Mexico relationship.




New studies on civil-military relations and defense policy in Brazil


Book Description

"After one of the longest military regimes in Latin America's history, Brazil transitioned to democracy in 1985. It was inevitable that, from then on, the political power of the military would decline. However, the extent to which the country's armed forces would eschew politics was never clear, given the vast role it had always played in domestic affairs since the onset of the republic in 1889."




The Routledge Handbook of Civil-Military Relations


Book Description

This second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Civil-Military Relations offers a wide-ranging, internationally focused overview of the field of civil-military relations. The armed forces are central actors in most societies and are involved in many different roles. Amongst other activities, they engage in peace operations, support the police in fighting crime, support civilian authorities in dealing with natural disasters, and fight against terrorists and in internal conflicts. The existing literature on this subject is limited in its discussion of warfighting and thus does not do justice to the variety of roles. This second edition not only fills this important lacuna but offers an up-to-date comparative analysis and provides a conceptual framework to analyze how strategies can realistically be implemented. Amalgamating ideas from key thinkers in the field, the book is organized into three main thematic parts: Part I: Civil-Military Relations in Non-Democratic States and Illiberal Democracies; Part II: Civil-Military Relations in New Democracies; Part III: Civil-Military Relations in Established Democracies. This handbook will be essential reading for students and practitioners in the fields of civil-military relations, defense studies, war and conflict studies, international security, and IR in general.




The Routledge Handbook of Civil-military Relations


Book Description

The Routledge Handbook of Civil-Military Relations not only fills this important lacuna, but offers an up-to-date comparative analysis which identifies three essential components in civil-military relations: (1) democratic civilian control; (2) operational effectiveness; and (3) the efficiency of the security institutions. This Handbook will be essential reading for students and practitioners in the fields of civil-military relations.




Civil-Military Relations in Post-Conflict Societies


Book Description

Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras are four Spanish speaking countries in Central America that possess uniformed military institutions. These four countries represent different approaches to reforms of civil-military relations, and embody varying degrees of success in both institutional democratization and the managing of security forces. In this book, Orlando J. Pérez expertly examines the competing theories of civil-military relations in Central America to advance our understanding of the origins, consequences and persistence of militarism in Latin America. Divided into four parts, Pérez begins by proposing a theoretical framework for analyzing civil-military relations, including an analysis of how U.S. foreign and military policy affects the establishment of stable civilian supremacy over the armed forces. Part Two examines the institutional and legal structures under which civil-military relations are carried out revealing in Part Three the reorientation of the missions and roles performed by the armed forces in each country. The concluding part analyzes the role beliefs of members of the military and public opinion about the armed forces in relation to other institutions. Combining both qualitative and quantitative data, Pérez bridges the gap between structural and cultural analyses for a more comprehensive understanding of the links between micro and macro level factors that influence civil-military relations and democratic governance.




Raúl Castro and Cuba


Book Description

This book tells the story of the military life of Raúl Castro, an impressive military commander and highly original thinker who is also the longest-serving minister of defense of any country in recent times.




The Construction of Democracy


Book Description

How should democracies balance the hopes and constraints of their societies with the architecture of their constitutions and institutions to secure freedom, promote citizenship, and foster prosperity? In The Construction of Democracy, leading scholars from seven different countries—and key decision makers from eight—come together to analyze the dimensions of democratic design and draw not only practical but feasible recommendations. Here citizens, politicians, and government officials offer valuable insight into the craft of politics with real examples of success and failures from some of the leading policy makers of our time—including the president of Portugal, former presidents of Brazil and Colombia, and a former prime minister of India. Drawing on the work of the Club of Madrid's Conference on Democratic Transition and Consolidation, the contributors discuss building and sustaining a contemporary democratic state, strengthening pluralism and public participation, designing effective constitutions, confronting economic challenges for new democracies, and controlling corruption. In a rare instance where the expertise of practical-minded scholars is melded with the experience of thoughtful policy makers, this volume offers much-needed insight to others seeking sensible and effective solutions. Contributors: Carlos Blanco, minister for the reform of the state, Venezuela; Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil; Aníbal Cavaco Silva, president of Portugal; Antônio Octávio Cintra, the Research Service of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies; Rut Diamint, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires; Jorge I. Domínguez, Harvard University; Grzegorz Ekiert, Harvard University; César Gaviria, former president of Colombia; Anna Grzymala-Busse, University of Michigan; Inder Kumar Gujral, former prime minister of India; Anthony Jones, the Gorbachev Foundation of North America; Marcelo Barroso Lacombe, the Research Service of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies; José Luis Méndez, El Colegio de México; Andrew Richards, Instituto Juan March of the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Ciencias Sociales, Madrid; Susan Rose-Ackerman, Yale University; Richard Simeon, University of Toronto; Luc Turgeon, University of Toronto.




Fieldwork Experiences in Criminology and Security Studies


Book Description

This book compiles the fieldwork experiences of 55 researchers, addressing the challenges, ethical considerations, and methodologies employed to study 30 diverse populations and phenomena within Criminology and Security Studies. This volume contributes to filling a gap in academic literature by highlighting the often unspoken realities and intricacies of fieldwork. The book is systematically structured into five thematic sections: The Powerful, The Invisible, The Vulnerable, The Violent, and The Cyber. These categories encompass various aspects and dimensions of fieldwork, including managing emotional distress, negotiating access through gatekeepers, ensuring the protection of informants, and exercising discretion in navigating sensitive issues. As a scholarly resource, this book is invaluable for academics, practitioners, and students involved in criminology, security studies, anthropology, sociology, and political science. By offering in-depth reflections and insights, this volume enhances the reader’s understanding of the nuances of fieldwork, and informs the development of robust and ethical research practices. Chapters 2, 9 and 11 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.




Handbook of Central American Governance


Book Description

Central America constitutes a fascinating case study of the challenges, opportunities and characteristics of the process of transformation in today’s global economy. Comprised of a politically diverse range of societies, this region has long been of interest to students of economic development and political change. The Handbook of Central American Governance aims to describe and explain the manifold processes that are taking place in Central America that are altering patterns of social, political and economic governance, with particular focus on the impact of globalization and democratization. Containing sections on topics such as state and democracy, key political and social actors, inequality and social policy and international relations, in addition to in-depth studies on five key countries (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala), this text is composed of contributions from some of the leading scholars in the field. No other single volume studies the current characteristics of the region from a political, economic and social perspective or reviews recent research in such detail. As such, this handbook is of value to academics, students and researchers as well as to policy-makers and those with an interest in governance and political processes.