"Walker's study on the state of democracy in Latin America is brilliant, well argued and convincing. It is a must read for political scientists, sociologists, U.S. government officials and nongovernmental organization workers 'on the ground' who want to understand how things work in Latin America." —America
“Walker combines the perspectives of college professor, political office holder, and on-site observer of the transition from democracy to dictatorship and back to democracy in his native country, Chile. . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice
"Offering much more hope than despair, these sophisticated reflections by a veteran Chilean scholar-politician—who currently serves in the country’s Senate—seem especially pertinent after the landslide electoral victory of Michelle Bachelet, who was recently reelected to the office of president after holding it before, from 2006 until 2010." —Foreign Affairs
“Walker’s contribution comes at the right time to fill in an important gap in the study of democracy and democratization in Latin America. This book is a welcome and much needed comprehensive historical journey through the successes and failures of democracy in the region starting with the demise of oligarchic rule in the early decades of the twentieth century.” —Review of Politics
“Ignacio Walker’s book, Democracy in Latin America: Between Hope and Despair , depicts the political development of Latin America over the last few centuries in a thorough and thoughtful manner. . . . Overall Walker balances broad theory with specific examples to thoroughly consider the political challenges of Latin America.” —International Law and Politics
“The value of this book lies in its sophisticated interpretations based on thorough analytic review of existing literature, rather than in fresh research or novel theory, and in its clear exposition for a non-scholarly audience concerned with Latin America’s political and economic trajectory since Independence, and particularly over the past half-century. These qualities make for a volume that is highly appropriate for non-specialist readers in both academe and the general public and for adoption in Latin American Studies courses.”—The Americas
“One aspect that makes this book different from many others is that, apart from being a well-trained scholar, the author has been a protagonist in the democratic processes of the region, allowing him to combine theory and practice with great versatility . . . . This book helps us to understand the weaknesses and strengths of electoral and representative democracy and the role that they have played in assuring democratic stability; it could also be used as a departure point for studying representation in participatory democracies.” —Bulletin of Latin American Research
"The book offers a pleasant excursion through key periods and debates of contemporary Latin American political history. If offers a comprehensive, if not exhaustive, introduction for students of democracy and development. . . . Walker's style conforms to the Latin American essayist tradition. This allows the author to enrich analysis with personal experiences and make bold arguments that are likely to elicit fruitful discussions." —Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies
"This is a dialogue between politics and academia writes Walker in the very first line of his book. After reading it, I should add: a very fruitful dialogue, one politically passionate in its commitment to democracy and intellectually acute in its inquiry about the vicissitudes of representative government in Latin America. The dialogue revolves around a key question: Why Latin America still shows a marked ambiguity towards representative democracy? To answer this question, Walker examines critical economic and socialpolitical phenomena with two centuries of Latin American history in the backdrop. Being a well trained political scientist, a policy maker, and an active politician, a rare combination of attributes, Walker is not interested so much in the past as he is in the present and in the future. Democracy in Latin America: Between Hope and Despair is a book all people who recognize the importance of consolidating 'authentic representative democracies' in the region should read." —Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil (1995–2002)
"There are quite a few works dealing with democracy and democratization in Latin America; however, Democracy in Latin America is unique in that Ignacio Walker takes a broad historical view, grounded on a good command of the relevant literature. The overall historical grounding of the book makes it very useful for introductory and general survey undergraduate courses on Latin America, while the detailed discussion of some of the issues (past and present) should be very good material for discussion and further research at the graduate level." —Guillermo O'Donnell (1936–2011), Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Among the topics in Democracy in Latin America, the three main areas of focus include the history and prospects of democracy in the region, the shortcomings and strengths of presidentialism and parliamentarism, and current economic and social dynamics in Latin America’s middle- and low-income countries. . . . The book offers a pleasant excursion through key periods and debates of contemporary Latin American political history.
Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Walker’s contribution comes at the right time to fill in an important gap in the study of democracy and democratization in Latin America. This book is a welcome and much needed comprehensive historical journey through the successes and failures of democracy in the region starting with the demise of oligarchic rule in the early decades of the twentieth century.
One aspect that makes this book different from many others is that, apart from being a well-trained scholar, the author has been a protagonist in the democratic processes of the region, allowing him to combine theory and practice with great versatility . . . . This book helps us to understand the weaknesses and strengths of electoral and representative democracy and the role that they have played in assuring democratic stability; it could also be used as a departure point for studying representation in participatory democracies.
Bulletin of Latin American Research
"There are quite a few works dealing with democracy and democratization in Latin America; however, Democracy in Latin America is unique in that Ignacio Walker takes a broad historical view, grounded on a good command of the relevant literature. The overall historical grounding of the book makes it very useful for introductory and general survey undergraduate courses on Latin America, while the detailed discussion of some of the issues (past and present) should be very good material for discussion and further research at the graduate level."
Guillermo O'Donnell (1936–2011)
"In 2009, Ignacio Walker—scholar, politician, and one of Latin America’s leading public intellectuals—published La Democracia en America Latina. Now available in English, with a new prologue, and significantly revised and updated for an English-speaking audience, Democracy in Latin America: Between Hope and Despair contributes to the necessary and urgent task of exploring both the possibilities and difficulties of establishing a stable democracy in Latin America. Walker argues that, throughout the past century, Latin American history has been marked by the search for responses or alternatives to the crisis of oligarchic rule and the struggle to replace the oligarchic order with a democratic one. After reviewing some of the principal theories of democracy based on an analysis of the interactions of political, economic, and social factors, Walker maintains that it is primarily the actors, institutions, and public policies—not structural determinants—that create progress or regression in Latin American democracy. Democracy in Latin America is organized by eight themes: independence and the establishment of democracy; the economic shift from exports to import substitution; democratic breakdowns, transitions, and consolidation; the double transition to democracy and trade liberalization in the 1980s and 1990s; institutions, democratic governability, and neopopulism; presidentialism and parliamentarism; the "new social question"; and the need for democracy of institutions. Walker systematically addresses the abundant literature on democracy in Latin America, combining a scholarly perspective with real world experience that enhances the understanding of political and economic development in the region."
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
The value of this book lies in its sophisticated interpretations based on thorough analytic review of existing literature, rather than in fresh research or novel theory, and in its clear exposition for a non-scholarly audience concerned with Latin America’s political and economic trajectory since Independence, and particularly over the past half-century. These qualities make for a volume that is highly appropriate for non-specialist readers in both academe and the general public and for adoption in Latin American Studies courses.
Ignacio Walker’s book, Democracy in Latin America: Between Hope and Despair , depicts the political development of Latin America over the last few centuries in a thorough and thoughtful manner. . . . Overall Walker balances broad theory with specific examples to thoroughly consider the political challenges of Latin America.
International Law and Politics
"Ignacio Walker's Democracy in Latin America: Between Hope and Despair draws in a critical fashion on the theories and concepts of social science to make an original argument about democracy in Latin America. His is the most balanced and comprehensive treatment of the topic currently available."
