Democracy in Latin America

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Democracy in Latin America

Type: Virtual

Language: Spanish

Level Education: Undergraduate/Graduate

Duration: 14 weeks

Presentation

In the last few decades, most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean completed their transition into democracy. Nevertheless, the 2004 UNDP report on democracy revealed the widespread adoption of democracy has not been accompanied with responsible practice, or an increase in political and civil society organisations resolving social demands of excluded groups. In 2006, 56% of Latin Americans believed that democracy was not resolving their problems. The frustration with democracy was further exacerbated by the poor economic performance in the past decades and the inability of democracy to resolve social problems and create jobs. However, democracy is still widely supported in the region and the population is confident of its capacity to improve their livelihoods.

As mentioned above, the lack of result from democracy could be attributed to the confusion in regards to its definition, as in some cases the only source of information for this term can be sought from elections. The existence of pluralism and institutions that effectively ensure the realization of democratic rights is paramount to consolidate a democratic regime, and to address the different challenges presented by the political, social, and economic conditions existing in Latin America today. The course contextualises democracy in the region by explaining the tension between the advances and limitations of democracy and dismantles the myths that have arisen about this concept in the past years.

Course Structure

The course is structured to be completed in 14 weeks and this includes 6 subject topics and 2 weeks for course introduction and closing. The introduction includes a course summary, and the closing unit invites participants to assess the course according to the below structure:

Unit 0	Introduction to the Virtual School System, the course and its context: Presentation and introduction to the School, course and classmates Understanding and using the virtual classroom Understanding and organization of learning resources
Unit 1	Definition of Democracy Preliminary definition of democracy The concept of “democracy” The five basic features of democracy
Unit 2	History of democracy in Latin America The colonial period Building the Nation-State Independence and turmoil Oligarchic democracies Expansion and contraction Democratisation and populisms Authoritarianisms Re-democratisation Different historical perspectives
Unit 3	From transitions to existing challenges in Latin American democracy Progress and setbacks of the democratic process in the region Elections Institutional and political changes Executive Branch Parliament Judicial Branch Political parties and political party systems Economic reforms and social results Before and after democratic transition
Unit 4	Democracy and institutions in Latin America Informality: limitation or part of Latin American institutions? The (in) effectiveness of law Accountability The need to control power What do we understand by accountability? Horizontal Accountability in Latin America Vertical Accountability in Latin America
Unit 5	Myths regarding democracy in Latin America State: the myth regarding the prioritisation of the economic “urgencies” of the population over other freedoms Nation: the myth about nation-building projects Rules of the game Elections: the myth that representative democracy can be replaced by participative democracy Political parties: the myth that constitutions are an obstacle to democracy Democratic culture: the myth that democracy is possible without citizenship
Unit 6	Advances and setbacks of democracy in Latin America
Closing Unit	Evaluation