Latin America: Its Problems and Its Promise: A Multidisciplinary Introduction / Edition 5

by Jan Knippers Black

Overview

Now in a fifth edition, Latin America has been updated to reflect the region's growing optimism as economies stabilize, trade diversifies, and political systems become more participatory. This multidisciplinary survey of Latin American history, politics, and society features invited contributions from authorities in a variety of fields. New sections address current events including deforestation in Costa Rica and Brazil, emerging social movements, Ecuador's new constitution, and Obama's stated objectives to repair U.S. relations with the region. In addition, key topics (such as women and Latin American politics, socialist governments and anti-American sentiment, Argentina's deteriorating economy, and Colombia's struggle with military and narcotics issues) receive expanded and revitalized treatment. Other updated material covers outcomes of recent elections in Bolivia, Brazil, and Nicaragua, among others. Through a hybrid thematic and regional organization, this text provides an essential foundation for introductory courses on Latin America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813344003
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	08/03/2010
Edition description:	Fifth Edition
Pages:	622
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 8.76(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	1430L (what's this?)

About the Author

Jan Knippers Black is professor of international policy studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California, a Graduate School of Middlebury College. She has authored or edited numerous books, including Development in Theory and Practice: Paradigms and Paradoxes, Second Edition (Routledge).

Table of Contents

List of Maps, Tables, Figures, and Illustrations ix

1 Introduction: Latin America Leading the Learning Curve Jan Knippers Black 1

Part 1 The Land and the People

2 Landscape and Settlement Patterns Alfonso Gonzalez 23

3 The Indian Populations of Latin America Karl H. Schwerin 39

4 A Harmonizing and Disharmonizing Human and Natural Environments David Stea G. Shane Lewis 56

Part 2 Historical Setting

5 Colonial Latin America Peter Bakewell 77

6 Latin America Since Independence: An Overview Michael Conniff 86

Part 3 Economic and Social Structures

7 Latin American Economies Restructure, Again William P. Glade 101

8 Social Structure and Change in Latin America Henry Veltmeyer James Petras 117

9 Strategies and Trends in Latin American Activism Wendy Muse Sinek 138

Part 4 Political Processes and Trends

10 Participation and Political Process: The Collapsible Pyramid Jan Knippers Black 159

11 Women and Latin American Politics: Participation, Citizenship, and Democracy Jane S. Jaquette 190

12 Globalization, Insecurity, and Crisis in the Americas Jorge Nef 207

Part 5 External Relations

13 International Relations in Latin America: Conflict and Cooperation James Lee Ray 229

14 The United States and Latin America: Into a New Era Wayne S. Smith 244

Part 6 Mexico and Central America

15 Mexico: A Revolution Laid to Rest? Fred P. Harris Martin C. Needler 273

16 Central America: From Revolution to "Low-Intensity Democracies" Thomas W Walker Christine J. Wade 302

17 Panama and the Canal Steve C. Ropp 324

Part 7 Cuba and the Caribbean

18 The Cuban Revolution Nelson P. Valdés 339

19 The Caribbean: The Structure of Modern-Conservative Societies Anthony P. Maingot 364

Part 8 The Andes

20 Colombia's Split-Level Realities Jan Knippers Black William H. Godnick 381

21 Venezuela: The Challenge to a "Model Democracy" Steve Ellner 399

22 Ecuador: Political Turmoil, Social Mobilization, and a Turn Toward the Left Pablo Andrade A. Liisa L. North 413

23 Peru: Precarious Democracy amid Dependent Development in a Divided Nation Cynthia McClintock 429

24 Bolivia: An Indigenous Movement Consolidates Power José Z. Garcia 443

Part 9 Brazil and the Southern Cone

25 Brazil: From Military Regime to Workers' Party Government David Fleischer 457

26 Chile: The Development, Breakdown, and Recovery of Democracy J. Samuel Valenzuela Arturo Valenzuela 488

27 Argentina: Decline and Revival Peter Calvert 524

28 Uruguay and Paraguay: An Arduous Transition Diego Abente Brun Michael Danielson 538

29 Conclusion: A New Kind of Togetherness Jan Knippers Black 564

Acknowledgments 581

About the Book, Editor, and Contributors 583

Index 591

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Previous Editions

“Jan Knippers Black's revised fourth edition updates this reader to include modern issues ranging from the traumatic impact of drugs to debt, threats to distinctive ecological zones, new populist political parties and social movements and their attendant social and economic crisis, and more. This book continues to be a popular reader for classroom use.”
—Colonial Latin American Historical Review

"Prof. Jan Knippers Black's updated textbook is the ideal resource for any interdisciplinary survey of Latin America. It's new chapters are especially welcome in the sense that the more current trends in interdisciplinary research on Latin America are brought to the reader's attention clearly and forcefully. The regional comprehensiveness of the book is preserved in the current edition, and its thoughtful division between content areas and country case studies successfully addresses competing visions of how the region should be studied, and its organizational structure provides excellent material for debating and critiquing the pedagogies of Latin American Studies."
—James D. Huck, Tulane University's Stone Center for Latin American Studies

From the Publisher

An undergraduate textbook, the second edition updated to include the conflicts and changes over the past decade. Half of the sections deal with general topics; the others focus on countries or regions. Also available in paper (unseen), $24.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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