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"In the literature on the turn to the left in the wider Latin American region, Central America has generally been neglected. The aim of this article is to seek to fill that gap, while specifically assessing the left turn's impact on prospects for democratization in the sub-region. Using three case studies - El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua - the article questions the usefulness of transition theory for analysis and instead offers a framework based on state/civil society interaction within the context of globalization. Four key conclusions are made: First, democratization is not a linear process, but can be subject to simultaneous processes of democratization and de-democratization. Second, continued deep structural inequalities remain central to the region's politics but these often provoke unproductive personalistic and partisan politics which can inhibit or curtail democratization. Third, interference from local and/or international economic actors can curtail or reverse democratization measures, underlining the influence of globalization. Fourth, Central America is particularly revelatory of these tendencies due to its acute exposure to extreme oligarchic power and outside influence. It hence can help shed light on wider questions on the blurring of boundaries between state, civil society and market and its impact on democratization, especially within the context of globalization. In this way the article contributes to the analysis of Central America in the current context of the 'pink tide', underlines the importance of continued analysis of Central America for democratization studies, and brings new insight to debates on transition theory."

This paper begins by reviewing the ancient Chinese worldview, one imbued with cultural particularism wherein the Middle Kingdom identified itself as the centre of the universe. I then distinguish the ways in which historically the Confucian East and Christian West have respectively exerted cultural hegemony. I next analyse China's rebuffing of liberal democracy, and how the CCP's retention of one-party rule has generated concerns about its legitimacy. I conclude by showing that China and America each possess moral traditions - specifically Confucianism and Jeffersonian Deism - that have overlapping outlooks. Both maintain a worldview that disavows extremism. Based on this broader philosophical-religious analysis, I argue that contentions over liberal democracy notwithstanding, China and America share moral ideals vital for confronting some of today's exigencies.

The changes that followed the Peace Agreements in Central America, particularly since the 90s when the "democratization process" began, went further than merely implementing regular elections. They signified the adoption of a whole package of fiscal, macr

In late 2008, the Hugo Chavez administration celebrated 10 years in government. Since his first electoral triumph on Dec. 6, 1998, a new period began characterized by the emergence of progressive and leftist governments in South America. Chavez's rise to

There is no 'finished product democracy'. How should democracy or self-rule be explained and evaluated today? It requires respect for the democracy of knowledge. A global conversation held at three international meetings, involving academics, civil society and social movement activists from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America, has issued in a Democracy Manifesto for our fast-moving times. We publish initial responses from participants each day this week to continue this conversation in the public domain.

LOS ANGELES | January 29, 2012 The word "free" and its derivatives take on many meanings in the English language, and this gorgeous California Sunday with the sun shining in all of its splendor, the people are reminded of the many intended meanings of the word "freedom" and how it is interpreted by Americans, and in this particular case, by one Californian. During an ensuing investigation, Police on Thursday arrested Umar Khan, a 34 year old Glendale man, as he was driving around town in his blue, four-door 2004 Honda Accord, naked from the waist down because it gave him a sense of "freedom." They had earlier learned that Khan drove around the city at night or early morning hours naked from the waist down and looks for cul-de-sac or driveways of homes to masturbate in. Khan has previously been convicted of indecent exposure in 1998, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records. Glendale officers caught Khan again with his pants down and officers arrested him about 2:23 a.m. Thursday on the 1300 block of Doverwood Drive, after patrolling officers noticed he failed to yield at a stop sign on Royal Boulevard, according to police reports. According to the reports, the officers had apparently attempted to stop Khan, but he fled. It must have been his sense of freedom, again. Moments later they spotted Khan and stopped him on Doverwood. As officers approached the vehicle, they noticed he was naked from the waist down. Surprise!

The election of Barack Obama has raised enormous expectations around the world, including in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). While President Obama's attention has understandably been focused predominantly on formidable challenges at home, in the M

Recent events in Europe and Latin America have triggered serious debate over federalism. In response, political scientists have turned to the new institutionalism literature in the attempt to understand both the causes and the consequences of federal inst

Starting from the 1980s, institutions of direct democracy were introduced into most Latin American constitutions. To date, the practical application of these institutions remains almost exclusively restricted to the subtype of government plebiscites while the use of citizen initiated instruments remains scarce. To explain the region's low frequency of use of citizen initiated instruments of direct democracy this explorative study proceeds in three sections. The first recapitulates regulatory legislation on, and practical experience with direct democracy in Latin America. The second proposes and applies an index for the comparative measurement of legal obstacles provided by institutional frameworks and goes on to discuss further explanatory propositions on factors that may interact with these legal obstacles to obstruct direct democratic citizen participation. Finally, these hypotheses are tested through an interview-based study with actors involved in the recent practical experience with direct democracy in Costa Rica. The study concludes that the institutional design of citizen initiated instruments of direct democracy alone does not suffice to explain the frequency of their practical application. Rather than this, application frequency appears to be a function of the combined interactive effects of legal institutional factors with sociological and political party factors such as strategic action preferences and party elites' attitudes.

"This article applies a sociolegal approach to the study of transnational legal processes and their effects within countries. First, we clarify the concepts of transnational law, transnational legal process, and transnational legal order. Second, we provide a typology of five dimensions of state change that we can assess empirically. Third, we explain the factors that determine the variable effects of transnational legal processes and organize these factors into three clusters. Fourth, we introduce four empirical studies of transnational legal processes' differential effects in five regulatory areas in Asia, Africa, and South America that illustrate these points. Together, they provide a guide of how to study the interaction of transnational and national legal processes, and the extent and limits of transnational legal processes' effects."

"The concept of "new social movements," characterized by a focus on identity, cannot readily be transferred to a Latin American context. Latin America never experienced the postmaterialist turn that led some to call certain European social movements "new." In addition, as the case of black organizing in Brazil demonstrates, identity-based Latin American social movements are much older than the literature suggests. What was indeed a Latin American novelty of the 1980s was the massive emergence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In the case of Brazil, these organizations emerged in response to new financial opportunities provided by international donors and the coercive and paternalistic actions of states, a reality that the concept of new social movements is unable to capture. Both the long history of identity-based organizing and the emergence of NGOs can be explained by focusing on political opportunities and changing protest repertoires."

One of the main issues in recent years for those desiring profound social transformation - especially in Latin America - has been the question of taking power. Should we to some extent collaborate with State institutions, or should we reject any involveme

US democracy promotion is integral to the pursuit of the grand project of the American Mission. By promoting democracy America makes its role one of international engagement as opposed to one of isolation. The first part of this paper examines the politic

But recently released documents suggest one of the more detailed promises, worth $20 million, has fallen between the cracks. On his maiden voyage as prime minister to the Caribbean and South America in July 2007, Harper announced with much fanfare in Brid

Choice, in our Webby world, may be one click away. Representative, elected democratic policy-enactment is a far clunkier, compromised, and beset process. Pundits in early America worried that the novel would make readers "unrealistic" in their expectat

Does democracy lead to more inclusive and equitable social contracts? Our answer is a qualified "yes." Democratization in Latin America and Eastern Europe increased attention to social policy despite wrenching economic crises. Yet welfare legacies of the

Over the past few years, a burgeoning literature on Latin American politics has developed, focusing on explanations for the renewed success of the left in the region. Building on electoral trends and public opinion analysis, we argue that the region is experiencing the normalization of democratic politics rather than a backlash or a revolution. Furthermore, we believe that electoral support for the left reflects the disenchantment of voters with underperforming right-wing governments. Using a unique data set covering eighteen countries in the region, our statistical analyses demonstrate that retrospective voting provides a powerful explanation of the recent electoral success of the left in Latin America. Thus, the central implication of our argument is that electoral accountability is still the primary mechanism of controlling the executive in the region's young democracies.

After months of bloodshed, violence, and vandalism, Bolivia may finally be back on the path to non-violent institutional reforms-no thanks to the U.S. government.

A talk by Parag Khanna, Director of the Global Governance Initiative of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation. In The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order, Parag Khanna examines the intersection of geopolitics

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (IPS) - A commission led by three former Latin American heads of state has called the 30-year U.S. "war on drugs" in Latin America a failure and urged a drastic change in policy. The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy iss