Political Geography: Latin America

401. Inflation Targets in Latin America

Author:: José De Gregorio
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:: Many emerging-market economies have adopted inflation targeting regimes since they were introduced by New Zealand in 1990. Latin America has not been the exception. Currently eight Latin American countries conduct monetary policy through inflation targeting regimes: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. This paper reviews the history of chronic inflation in Latin America and describes these countries’ experience with inflation targets and their performance during the global financial crisis.
Topic:: Markets, Developing World, Economies, and Inflation
Political Geography:: Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Latin America, Central America, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, and Paraguay

402. Fuel Subsidy Reform and Green Taxes: Can Digital Technologies Improve State Capacity and Effectiveness?

Author:: Alan Gelb and Anit Mukherjee
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: Reforming inefficient and inequitable energy subsidies continues to be an important priority for policymakers as does instituting “green taxes” to reduce carbon emissions. Simply increasing energy prices will have adverse impact on poorer consumers, who may spend substantial budget shares on energy and energy-intensive products even though the rich typically appropriate more of the price subsidy. Equitable pricing reforms therefore need to be accompanied by programs to transfer compensation: depending on the situation, this can be targeted or universal. Successful reforms require measures to raise awareness-of the subsidies and the problems they cause, effective dissemination of the reform to the population, and rapid feedback loops to facilitate mid-course corrections. Digital technology, including for unique identification and payments, as well as general communications, can help build government capacity to undertake such reforms and respond to changes in fuel markets. The paper outlines the use of digital technology, drawing on four country cases. The technology is only a mechanism; it does not, in itself, create the political drive and constituency to push reform forward. However, it can be employed in a number of ways to increase the prospects for successful and sustainable reform.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Science and Technology, Reform, and Digitalization
Political Geography:: Africa, Middle East, India, and Latin America

403. A Free Trade Agreement Could Benefit the U.S.-Brazil Trade Relationship

Author:: Peter Sufrin
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: According to a recent State Department report, the United States is Brazil's second largest trading partner, and Brazil is the U.S.'s ninth largest trading partner. Not until the 1990s did the Brazilian government address trade liberalization, privatization, competition, and productivity as a way to increase commodities exports, and promote growth in imports of manufactured products. The possibility for further cooperation exists, particularly in the realm of Foreign Direct Investment, patent law, and a double taxation treaty, and with initiatives such as a U.S.-Brazil Commission on Economic and Trade Relations, a Defense Cooperation Dialogue, an Infrastructure Development Working Group, and an Economic and Financial Dialogue.
Topic:: International Relations, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, Alliance, Trade Liberalization, Free Trade, and Exports
Political Geography:: Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Latin America, and United States of America

404. Construction of an Extended Environmental and Economic Social Accounting Matrix from a Practitioner’s Perspective

Author:: Onil Banerjee, Martin Cicowiez, Renato Vargas, and Mark Horridge
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: In 2014, the United Nations published the first International Standard for environmental economic statistics, known as the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).. As more countries adopt and implement the SEEA, the availability of consistent environmental and economic information increases the need for analytical tools that can use this data to respond to policy relevant questions. In this paper, we present a workflow to develop an environmentally extended social accounting matrix, which can serve as the basic database for the development of environmentally-extended computable general equilibrium models. To illustrate, and given its comprehensive implementation of the SEEA, we apply this workflow to the Guatemalan case and the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform.
Topic:: Economics, United Nations, Basic Data, Accountability, Economic Policy, and Statistics
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Central America, Guatemala, and Global Focus

405. Living with the Neighbors: The Effect of Venezuelan Forced Migration on Wages in Colombia

Author:: Leonardo Peñaloza Pacheco
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: The aim of this paper is to estimate the causal effect of the migration of Venezuelans to Colombia on the Colombian real wage, since 2016. In the second semester of 2016, the borders between Colombia and Venezuela were reopened after a year of being closed due to a political crisis between the two countries; this re-opening is exploited as an identification strategy. Using data from the Unidad Administrativa Especial de Migraci´on Colombia and the Registro Administrativo de Migrantes Venezolanos in Colombia, it is estimated that the migratory flow of Venezuelans to Colombia increased the Economically Active Population of the border areas of La Guajira and Norte de Santander by approximately 10% and 15%, since its reopening. Differences-in-differences methodology and Synthetic Control Method are implemented and the results show that the increase in labor supply in these regions that resulted from the migratory flow generated a decline in real hourly wages of approximately 6%-9% on average. This decrease in real wages appears to be greater for men as compared to women. There is also evidence of a greater drop in real wages among people with lower levels of qualification and in conditions of informal employment.
Topic:: Economics, Migration, Political Economy, Labor Issues, Employment, and Income Inequality
Political Geography:: Colombia, Latin America, and Venezuela

406. Gender Gaps in Labor Informality: The Motherhood Effect

Author:: Mariana Marchionni, María Edo, Dolores de la Mata, Lucila Berniell, and Inés Berniell
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: Recent work has quantified the large negative effects of motherhood on female labor market outcomes in Europe and the US. But these results may not apply to developing countries, where labor markets work differently and informality is widespread. In less developed countries, informal jobs, which typically include microenterprises and self-employment, offer more time flexibility but poorer social protection and lower labor earnings. These characteristics affect the availability of key inputs in the technology to raise children, and therefore may affect the interplay between parenthood and labor market outcomes. Through an event-study approach we estimate short and long-run labor market impacts of children in Chile, an OECD developing country with a relatively large informal sector. We find that the birth of the first child has strong and long lasting effects on labor market outcomes of Chilean mothers, while fathers remain unaffected. Becoming a mother implies a sharp decline in mothers’ labor supply, both in the extensive and intensive margins, and in hourly wages. We also show that motherhood affects the occupational structure of employed mothers, as the share of jobs in the informal sector increases remarkably. In order to quantify what the motherhood effect would have been in the absence of an informal labor market, we build a quantitative model economy, that includes an informal sector which offers more flexible working hours at the expense of lower wages and weaker social protection, and a technology to produce child quality that combines time, material resources and the quality of social protection services. We perform a counterfactual experiment that indicates that the existence of the informal sector in Chile helps to reduce the drop in LFP after motherhood in about 35%. We conclude that mothers find in the informal sector the flexibility to cope with both family and labor responsibilities, although at the cost of resigning contributory social protection and reducing their labor market prospects.
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, Political Economy, and Women
Political Geography:: Latin America and Chile

407. Multiple Violations of Labor Market Regulations: Patterns in the Peruvian Labor Market and the Impact of Enforcement

Author:: Mariana Viollaz
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: This paper quantifies labor law violations and how the enforcement efforts impact on the compliance level by considering the possibility of different labor regulations being violated simultaneously. The findings for the Peruvian labor markets over the period 2004-2013 indicate that: (i) multiple violations of labor regulations are an important feature of Peruvian labor markets; (ii) young workers, workers with low level of education, indigenous workers, workers in micro firms and workers employed in the agricultural sector have higher chances of being deprived of several labor benefits simultaneously; (iii) the enforcement of labor regulations, captured through the number of labor inspections at the region level, is effective in detecting and penalizing extreme situations of multiple violations of the labor law, but the evidence also suggests that firms adjust only partially as an attempt to reduce the amount of a potential fine if discovered, and that laid off workers during the adjustment process moved to the informal sector where firms are not inspected. These findings are useful from a policy perspective indicating that there is space to improve firms’ incentives when facing an increase in the enforcement effort.
Topic:: Economics, Labor Issues, Law Enforcement, Law, Regulation, Labor Policies, and Economic Policy
Political Geography:: Latin America and Peru

408. Intra-Household Inequality and Child Welfare in Argentina

Author:: Miriam Berges, Federico Perali, Martina Menon, and Lucía Echeverria
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: Are two parents and single parents allocating household resources to children in the same way? Which factors affect intra-household inequality? Do mothers re-distribute more income to children as they are more empowered? We focus on child welfare in the context of two parent and single parent families, which is relevant for policy recommendation. We model households behavior in a collective framework, which allows us to understand the rule governing the allocation process between adults and children. Using consumption data from Argentina from three consecutive expenditures surveys (1996, 2004 and 2012) we analyze intra-household behavior over three different socio-economic contexts. We estimate a collective quadratic demand system following a structural approach to identify the fraction of total household expenditure that is devoted to children and adults, exploiting the observability of assignable goods. We provide the first evidence of intra-household inequality and individual poverty levels for Argentina. Our results indicate that family structure matters in the intra-household distribution. We find a positive gender bias in expenditure when children are females for both types of families, and we document that children fare better when mothers have a higher bargaining power in the allocation process, measured by their employment status. Further, we find several features of intra-household behavior which are persistent in time.
Topic:: Economics, Political Economy, Children, Income Inequality, Child Poverty, and Family
Political Geography:: Argentina and Latin America

409. Formal Employment and Organized Crime: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Colombia

Author:: Jorge Tamayo, Anant Nyshadham, Carlos Medina, and Gaurav Khanna
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC)
Abstract:: Canonical models of crime emphasize economic incentives. Yet, causal evidence of sorting into criminal occupations in response to individual-level variation in incentives is limited. We link administrative socioeconomic microdata with the universe of arrests in Medellίn over a decade. We exploit exogenous variation in formal-sector employment around a socioeconomic-score cutoff, below which individuals receive benefits if not formally employed, to test whether a higher cost to formal-sector employment induces crime. Regression discontinuity estimates show this policy generated reductions in formal-sector employment and a corresponding spike in organized crime, but no effects on crimes of impulse or opportunity.
Topic:: Crime, Economics, Political Economy, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:: Colombia and Latin America

410. Brothers or Invaders? How Crises-Driven Migrants Shape Voting Behavior

Author:: Sandra Rozo and Juan Vargas
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC)
Abstract:: Can voter’s negative attitudes toward immigration be explained by self-interest or sociotropic motives? Self-interested voters care about their personal economic circumstances. Sociotropic voters display in-group bias and perceive migrants as threats to their culture. We study the voting effects of forced internal and international migration in Colombia and exploit the disproportionate flows of migrants to municipalities with early settlements of individuals from their origin locations. In line with the sociotropic hypothesis, we find that only international migration inflows increase political participation and shift votes from left- to right-wing ideologies. These results are not accounted for by the observed changes caused by migrants in socioeconomic variables.
Topic:: Migration, Immigration, Ideology, and Voting
Political Geography:: Colombia and Latin America

411. The Geography of Dictatorship and Support for Democracy

Author:: Mounu Prem, Pablo Muñoz, Luis R. Martınez, Felipe González, and Marίa Angélica Bautista
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC)
Abstract:: We show that proximity to military bases during the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile (1973-1990) exposed civilians to more state repression and led to (i) stronger electoral opposition to Pinochet and (ii) a long-lasting strengthening of democratic values. Our empirical strategy exploits the location of military bases during the many decades of democratic rule before the military coup, which we show is unrelated to pre-coup electoral outcomes. We find that residents of counties housing these bases both registered and voted “No” to Pinochet’s continuation in power at higher rates in the crucial 1988 plebiscite that bolstered the democratic transition. These counties also experienced more civilian deaths and forced disappearances during the dictatorship, indicating that increased exposure to repression affected voters’ behavior. After democratization, residents of these counties who were exposed to the military coup report greater support for democracy in surveys, but there are no persistent effects on electoral outcomes.
Topic:: Military Affairs, Democracy, Military Intervention, Coup, Voting, and Dictatorship
Political Geography:: Latin America and Chile

412. The Impact of the State on the Quality of an Economic System: A Cross-Country Analysis

Author:: Maciej Bałtowski and Piotr Kozarzewski
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:: The paper discusses the role of the state in shaping an economic system which is, in line with the welfare economics approach, capable of performing socially important functions and achieving socially desirable results. We describe this system through a set of indexes: the IHDI, the World Happiness Index, and the Satisfaction of Life index. The characteris-tics of the state are analyzed using a set of variables which describe both the quantitative (government size, various types of governmental expenditures, and regulatory burden) and qualitative (institutional setup and property rights protection) aspects of its functioning. The study examines the “old” and “new” member states of the European Union, the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia, and the economies of Latin America. The main conclusion of the research is that the institutional quality of the state seems to be the most important for creation of a socially effective economic system, while the level of state interventionism plays, at most, a secondary and often negligible role. Geographical differentiation is also discovered, as well as the lack of a direct correlation between the characteristics of an economic system and the subjective feeling of well-being. These re-sults may corroborate the neo-institutionalist hypothesis that noneconomic factors, such as historical, institutional, cultural, and even genetic factors, may play an important role in making the economic system capable to perform its tasks; this remains an area for future research.
Topic:: Demographics, Economy, Economic Growth, State, Economic Policy, Institutions, Trade, and Welfare
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, and European Union

413. The Chávez Era Perspective for an Innovative Cultural Policy

Author:: Mônica Leite Lessa and Pablo Victor Fontes
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: This paper examines Venezuela’s audio-visual sector and its cultural and media policies during the Chávez Era (1999-2013). Accordingly, this analysis essentially emphasises how Chávez’s perception of the absence of representation concerning Venezuelan popular culture served as the basis for proposing a remodelling of cultural and media policies. Bearing in mind this scenario, we point out that this initiative took place in order to rescue, promote and appreciate national distinctiveness and to stimulate the population’s inclusion and social development. In this sense, we indicate that the reconstitution of Venezuela’s social fabric took place through a new, important and original agenda of cultural and/or audio-visual goods. Also, we suggest that, to a certain extent, the same process took place in Latin America.
Topic:: Globalization, Culture, Media, Domestic Politics, and Social Policy
Political Geography:: Latin America and Venezuela

414. UNASUR in Venezuela: Mediation, Bias and Legitimacy

Author:: Pryanka Peñafiel Cevallos and Cécile Mouly
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: In light of the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of partial and impartial mediators, we examine how the Venezuelan government’s and the opposition’s perceptions of UNASUR and its good offices influenced its role as facilitator of dialogue between the two parties. We do so on the basis of interviews with key actors linked to the process, as well as a review of the literature and documentary sources. We find that, although there was a perception of lack of neutrality on the part of the mediators involved in the UNASUR effort to facilitate a dialogue in Venezuela, the parties themselves accepted the role of these mediators because they perceived that, through their means, they could achieve beneficial outcomes. Hence, we agree with various authors that the parties’ perception of a mediator is key. Nonetheless, we make a distinction between two types of perceptions that correspond to two types of legitimacy that a mediator can enjoy: ideological legitimacy and pragmatic legitimacy. We argue that the second type is essential and can explain the significant role that biased mediators play in various conflicts, such as that in Venezuela.
Topic:: Diplomacy and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Latin America and Venezuela

415. Problematising the Ultimate Other of Modernity: the Crystallisation of Coloniality in International Politics

Author:: Ramon Blanco and Ana Carolina Teixeira Delgado
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: This article examines a key element of the power relations underpinning international politics, namely coloniality. It delineates the coloniality of international politics, and elucidates the fundamental aspects of its operationalisation on the one hand, and its crystallisation into international politics on the other. The article is structured into three sections. First, it explores the meaning of coloniality, and outlines its fundamental characteristics. Next, it delineates a crucial operative element of coloniality, the idea of race, and the double movement through which coloniality is rendered operational – the colonisation of time and space. Finally, the article analyses two structuring problematisations that were fundamental to the crystallisation of coloniality in international politics – the work of Francisco de Vitoria, and the Valladolid Debate. It argues that the way in which these problematisations framed the relationship between the European Self and the ultimate Other of Western modernity – the indigenous peoples in the Americas – crystallised the pervasive role of coloniality in international politics.
Topic:: Post Colonialism, Race, International Affairs, Colonialism, and Indigenous
Political Geography:: Europe, Latin America, and Global Focus

416. Introduction: Gender in the Global South: A Complex and Contradictory Agenda

Author:: Natália Maria Félix de Souza
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: The publication of the last of three parts of Contexto Internacional’s special issue ‘Gender in the Global South’ is the opportunity to both celebrate and lament the accomplishments of feminist scholarship in the so-called global South. Reflecting from the Brazilian experience and scenario, it is remarkable how much the women, gender and sexuality agenda has grown in the field of international relations: from a marginal perspective at the turn of the century (Nogueira and Messari 2005), it has now become a major locus of resistance and contestation, which can be attested to by looking at the power plays at the Brazilian international relations association’s annual meetings, the multiplication of feminist collectives inside public and private universities, not to mention the growing number of gender-sensitive research articles published by the main national journals – including this triple special issue. From where I look, there is no doubt that feminism has come to shake the conventions of the area and produce a much more plural and interesting picture of international relations – one which encompasses more voices, stories, subjectivities and narratives. From this standpoint, there is much to celebrate and hope for.
Topic:: International Relations, Gender Issues, Socialism/Marxism, Realism, International Relations Theory, Feminism, and Liberalism
Political Geography:: Latin America and Global Focus

417. From Binary to Intersectional to Imbricated Approaches: Gender in a Decolonial and Diasporic Perspective

Author:: Andréa Gill and Thula Pires
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: This article proposes a re-reading of the problem of gender, or as it has been put, more often than not, ‘the woman problem,’ that resists the reproduction of modern/colonial systems of governance and their political norms, standards, ideals and pacts. In turn, it seeks to open pathways to dialogue with, rather than import, conceptions of gender that respond to the terms through which modern/colonial societies have been forged on the continent of Abya Yala, drawing inspiration from decolonial and diasporic perspectives. To this end, the article maps some of the available channels of the gender debate in what has come to be known as the global South from an array of perspectives that highlight the ways in which the relations between categories of oppression and privilege (such as race, class, sexuality and gender) are reflected and positioned so as to grapple with the coloniality of knowledge, power and being. More specifically, it focuses on three ways of dealing with power dynamics in the context of Abya Yala that have influenced how we conceive and respond to questions of gender. Its primary objective is to investigate the politico-epistemic conditions that structure gender thinking in binary and intersectional ways, and, in turn, open space for imbricated approaches forged from within (post-)colonial histories that do not take as their starting point the importation of theoretical references from places otherwise situated within a global political economy of knowledge/power/being. More than a critique of theoretical standpoints from the global North, in and of themselves, which regardless were not thought to respond to our realities, here we analyse the terms through which gender and feminisms have been put up for debate. Without effectively decentring the Eurocentred references that preoccupy gender thinking in our respective disputes, we risk continued distraction from what is at stake when gender is put on the table: the (im)possibilities of living one’s full humanity on one’s own terms.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Political Theory, Diaspora, Women, and International Relations Theory
Political Geography:: Europe, Latin America, and Global Focus

418. Women’s Struggles Against Extractivism in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: Enara Echart Muñoz and Maria del Carmen Villarreal
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: Since Cynthia Enloe asked, ‘Where are the women?’ in 1989, studies about the place of women in International Relations have increased. However, most of the analyses since then have focused on the participation of women in international organisations, events and institutional spaces, making invisible other practices and places occupied by black or indigenous women from the South. This article aims to highlight the role of women at the international level, analysing their performance in disputes over the meanings of development in Latin America and the Caribbean, based on struggles against extractivism. In addition to denouncing the impacts of this development model, these struggles seek to construct alternatives that, although they could be essentially local, have been multiplied and articulated throughout the Latin American and the Caribbean territory, as part of a broader resistance to the dominant extractivism in the region. These struggles will be mapped using a database of 259 conflicts around mining activities, developed by the Research Group on International Relations and Global South (GRISUL).
Topic:: Gender Issues, Race, Natural Resources, Women, Global South, and Indigenous
Political Geography:: Latin America, Caribbean, and Global Focus

419. The Post-Political Link Between Gender and Climate Change: The Case of the Nationally Determined Contributions Support Programme

Author:: Felipe Jaramillo Ruiz and Juan Pablo Vallejo
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: This paper interrogates to what extent the gender component of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Support Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reaffirms the post-political condition of climate change. By analysing the incorporation of gender in the NDC Support Programme and its articulation in Colombia’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy, the study exposes the strategic, epistemological, and normative risks of advancing feminist ideas within mainstream institutional frameworks. Thus, this paper shows the opportunities and challenges of dislocating the political and epistemological boundaries of climate change policies by promoting feminist ideas.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Gender Issues, United Nations, and Women
Political Geography:: Colombia and Latin America

420. Gender Issues in the Ivory Tower of Brazilian IR

Author:: Mariana Pimenta Oliveira Baccarini, Xaman Korai Minillo, and Elia Elisa Cia Alves
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: What is the status of women in the discipline of International Relations (IR) in Brazil? This study provides a pioneering map of gender issues in Brazilian IR, focusing on inequality, discrimination and harassment. It includes a literature review as well as the findings of two sets of research: the first a survey of personal and professional issues faced by academic staff in Brazilian IR, and the second a report on the staffing of IR and related departments at private and public academic institutions in Brazil. Our research shows that despite the specificities of the Brazilian higher education system, Brazilian IR academics conform to international trends in respect of gender issues, facing monetary and/or familial inequalities and gender discrimination in their careers. It also shows that 25% of female academics have experienced undesired sexual contact at least once, and that there is a gap between male and female understandings of what constitutes sexual harassment.
Topic:: International Relations, Political Theory, and International Relations Theory
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

421. Darkness at noon: deforestation in the new authoritarian era

Author:: Susanna B. Hecht
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
Abstract:: The dramatic Amazon fires images of Au-gust 2019 triggered a geopolitical outcry. Brazilian President Bolsonaro, however, unflinchingly continues to support his destructive model of Amazonian development. This article recalls the extent of the disaster and delves into the reasons behind such disdain for environmental concerns.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, and Environment
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

422. Platform Economy and Employment: What it is like to work for an app in Argentina?

Author:: Javier Madariaga, Cesar Buenadicha, Erika Molina, and Christoph Ernst
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC)
Abstract:: Digital platforms emerged globally about ten years ago and entailed a major disruption in the world of work. However, they are a relatively recent development in Argentina. Early in 2016 there were five such platforms in operation, all of them domestic capital companies. After that, the flexibilization of the system of payments abroad and other factors accelerated the entry of new platforms and affiliates of foreign companies, which, in turn, fostered the flow of new investments in local platforms that were already installed. In fact, during the following two years, at least eight new platforms that offer the possibility of income generation were incorporated. However, new forms of work through digital platforms is not included in the government´s official statistics and thus remains invisible in other categories: unemployed working persons, freelancers, some non-standard wage-earning employment, and informal workers. This study is the first to classify, describe, and analyze digital labour platforms in Argentina. It includes a specific survey of more than 600 cases: the 2018 Survey of Platform Workers (ETP 18, as per its Spanish acronym). The survey’s results show that, although this phenomenon is at its earliest stages, in 2018 the group of users-providers of services through digital platforms represented 1% of all those employed in Argentina, that is to say, more than 160,000 registered workers. That figure encompasses very different realities, from people transporting passengers in their cars to graphic designers working from home, or people renting out a room in their homes. One conclusion drawn from this research is that the platform economy offers new income generation opportunities and plays a social safety role in the face of unemployment and underemployment, but it also creates regulatory issues and challenges the scope of labour, tax and worker protection rules that were designed for the traditional economy. The digital platform economy democratises the generation of income, offers more flexible opportunities and income generation methods, and facilitates access to work. Nevertheless, it also brings new challenges to workers: more job insecurity and volatility, and less accumulation of skills. The document Platform Economy: ¿What is it like to work for an app in Argentina? analyzes in detail the different aspects of the platform economy and presents some potential public policy guidelines.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Employment, Digital Economy, Work Culture, and Labor Policies
Political Geography:: Argentina and Latin America

423. Populism and Social Cohesion in Latin America: Two Sides of the same coin

Author:: Anuschka Álvarez von Gustedt and Susanne Gratius
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:: Are populism and social cohesion two sides of the same coin, or antagonistic concepts? In deeply divided Latin American societies, populism and discourses from the left have repeatedly promised inclusion and welfare programs under a strong leader who gives voice to the poor and marginalized. At first glance, however, results are ambiguous. The recent wave of left-wing populism in Latin America --from Hugo Chávez in 1999 to Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2019 - show a mixed record of social inclusion or –in a term we will use here - social cohesion. Bolivia under Evo Morales (2006-2019), for example, improved all social indicators compared to former governments, while the severe political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela illustrates how populism and its welfare policies may lead to potentially disastrous consequences. The paper is organized as follows: In the first section, we provide a short overview of current political and academic debates on populism and social cohesion, as well as their relationship. The objective here is to identify a minimal definition of both concepts. In the second part, we develop a series of indicators to compare the social record of five Latin American case-studies where leftist leaders with state-centric discourses promised justice and welfare for the poor. From this comparative perspective, the third part of the document explores the causes that led to the rise of leftist populism between 1999 and 2018 in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela, as well as the social discourse and track record of populist governments. This analysis is based on indicators developed from the broad literature on social cohesion.
Topic:: Socialism/Marxism, Populism, and Humanitarian Intervention
Political Geography:: Argentina, Latin America, Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, and Bolivia

424. Venezuela: First episode of the new Cold War?

Author:: Slobodan Pajovic
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Abstract:: Since the beginning of 2019, Venezuela has been in the focus of international politics because of its political and institutional crisis, together with its economic and social collapse generated in 2013, transformed into a regional and international crisis. The exit of some estimated three to four million emigrants mostly to neighboring countries of human rights and democratic values, the authoritarian regime of socialist orientation, the current American strategy of strengthening its political and strategic influence in Latin America, the presence of significant non- regional emerging global factors, as well as the cyclical changes of political parties in power in this part of the world. Accordingly, this crisis tests the hemispheric and global leadership of has additionally deepened the contexts of theUS, the influences of emerging global powers the regional crisis including also the security aspect. In short, the crisis can be described as oscillating between the issues of defense like China, Russia, India or Turkey, recently, and the potential of Latin American regionalism and political consensus.
Topic:: Imperialism, Migration, Regional Cooperation, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: United States, Latin America, Venezuela, and North America

425. Colombia’s Longest Insurgency and the Last Chance for Peace?

Author:: Mathew Charles
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: Within the ELN, differing ideologies and visions for the end of conflict may set a time limit on the potential for peace.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Insurgency, Counterinsurgency, Peacekeeping, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Colombia and Latin America

426. Creativity at the Service of Social Mobilization in Chile

Author:: Iraida H. López
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: Artistic expression is not only central to the protests in Chile—it's part of a long national tradition of resistance.
Topic:: Arts, Social Movement, Protests, and Music
Political Geography:: Latin America and Chile

427. The Burning Quest to Revive a Nationalist Vision in Brazil’s Amazon

Author:: Eva Bratman
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: Record fires in Brazil’s Amazon this year marked a political protest led by ranchers who, already empowered under Bolsonaro’s government, are keen to push the government to fully embrace a dictatorship-era extractive doctrine.
Topic:: Environment, Protests, and Dictatorship
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

428. Understanding Bolivia's Nightmare

Author:: Gabriel Hetland
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:: Debate continues to swirl around the questions of what led up to Morales's resignation and what has happened since.
Topic:: Social Movement, Elections, Democracy, and Indigenous
Political Geography:: Latin America and Bolivia

429. Comparing Global Trends in Multidimensional and Income Poverty and Assessing Horizontal Inequalities

Author:: Francesco Burchi, Daniele Malerba, Nicole Rippin, and Claudio E. Montenegro
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: The 2030 Agenda has provided new impetus to two facets of the struggle for poverty alleviation, which is a central goal of the international development community. First, poverty is no longer viewed strictly in monetary terms, but rather as a multidimensional phenomenon. Second, the need to reduce poverty for different social groups and not just at the aggregate, national level is explicitly recognised. Against this background, this paper has three objectives: (1) to analyse the trends in multidimensional poverty in low- and middle-income countries, (2) to explore rural-urban differences in poverty over time, and (3) to assess the validity of the claim that there has been a feminisation of poverty. The analysis relies on a new indicator of multidimensional poverty, the Global Correlation Sensitive Poverty Index (G-CSPI), that incorporates three key components: education, employment and health. The G-CSPI has several methodological advantages over existing measures, including that it is an individual rather than a household-level measure of poverty, which is crucial for gender-disaggregated analysis. Regarding aggregate trends, this paper shows that both income poverty and multidimensional poverty fell between 2000 and 2012. However, the decline in (extreme) income poverty in percentage terms was twice as large as the decline in multidimensional poverty. There is significant heterogeneity in the results across regions. Multidimensional poverty declined the most in Asia, converging towards the relatively low levels of Latin America and Europe, while sub-Saharan Africa’s slow progress further distanced it from other regions. These findings point to the existence of poverty traps and indicate that more efforts are needed to eradicate poverty. Regarding the urban-rural comparison, our analysis shows that poverty is predominantly a rural phenomenon: the rural G-CSPI was more than four times the urban G-CSPI. This difference remained nearly constant over time. As for the third objective, we find no gender bias in 2000 at the global level. This contrasts with the claim made in 1995 in Beijing that 70 per cent of the poor were women. However, we find that multidimensional poverty declined more among men (-18.5 per cent from 2000) than women (-15 per cent), indicating a process of feminisation of poverty. This was triggered by the decline in employment poverty, which was much slower among women. As most existing studies conclude that there was no evidence of the feminisation of poverty, this finding is new to the literature.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Poverty, Inequality, Urban, and Rural
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Global Focus

430. Digitalisation in the Lives of Urban Migrants: Evidence from Bogota

Author:: Charles Martin-Shields, Sonia Camacho, Rodrigo Taborda, and Constantin Ruhe
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: As increased migration, particularly to urban centres, and digitalisation play a greater role in development cooperation, more research on how these phenomena interact will become critical. Information communication technologies (ICTs) offer pathways for potentially making it easier for migrants to settle in, whether it be through e-government programmes or by accessing social networks that can help in finding housing and work. To better understand how ICTs fit into urban migrants’ lives, we gathered new survey data in Bogota comparing how long-term residents, short-term residents, and Venezuelan migrants access and use ICTs. We identified a new factor that influences internet access among migrants after controlling for economic and social factors: duration of time in a neighbourhood. While migrants initially lag behind their neighbours in ICT and internet access, the longer they stay in one neighbourhood, the more likely they are to gain access to these technologies. Indeed, over time, our data shows that migrants become more likely than their neighbours to gain access to ICTs and the internet when they continue to stay in the same neighbourhood. Our results also show that uptake of e-government services remains a challenge. Citizens generally do not interact with their governments more than a few times a year, and migrants may not interact at all. Especially when working with vulnerable or “hidden” populations, development organisations need to put significant resources into education and outreach so that the populations they are trying to reach know about e-government services, and their value. The data collected in Bogota paints a potentially positive picture about using ICTs with migrants and migrant communities. By effectively engaging migrants early on and meeting basic initial needs such as housing or access to identification, development and humanitarian agencies could help migrants gain greater access to ICTs and make use of e-government platforms.
Topic:: Migration, Science and Technology, Communications, Internet, and Urban
Political Geography:: South America and Latin America

431. Drug Trafficking between Latin America and Africa: A contemporary Case between Security and Global Governance / Narcotráfico entre América Latina y África: un caso contemporáneo entre seguridad y gobernanza global

Author:: Mohamed Badine El Yattioui and Claudia Barona Castañeda
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: In this paper, we will analyze two regions and the relationship between them, concerning drug trafficking (excepting Morocco, a hashish producer), posing a great variability challenges for State Security and their formal cooperation and even further, a real concern of global governance matter. How to create original and international instruments adapted to fight this illegal market, which has an impact on Europe?
Topic:: Security, International Affairs, Narcotics Trafficking, Drugs, and Organized Crime
Political Geography:: Africa and Latin America

432. Negotiating Security in Latin America, How Russia Regained a Foothold in the Western Hemisphere

Author:: Taylor Valley
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Council on International Policy (CIP)
Abstract:: What is Russia’s geopolitical game in Latin America? Since the early-2000s, we have witnessed bilateral trade spike by 44 percent, around 40 diplomatic visits by high-ranking Russian officials, and budding military cooperation through joint-naval exercises in Latin American ports. Some explain this growth as Russian efforts to create multipolarity in the western hemisphere and undermine U.S. influence in the region. This narrative of bilateral relations disregards a key element that may be driving Russia’s engagement— the role of Latin American leadership.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and Imperialism
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and United States of America

433. Negotiating Venezuela’s future: First agreement, then elections

Author:: Mikael Wigell and Mikko Pyhala
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:: Venezuela needs a transition government with both pro-Maduro and anti-Maduro forces. Its function would be to renew the electoral institutions and negotiate a power-sharing agreement in order to lower the power stakes by protecting political minorities. Only then can presidential elections be held.
Topic:: Governance, Minorities, Elections, State Building, and Transition
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, and Venezuela

434. Russia's Central American Engagement

Author:: Ivan Ulises Klyszcz
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
Abstract:: Central America has received little attention in the Russia Federation’s ‘return’ to Latin America. The region’s small population and underdeveloped markets make it relatively uninteresting for a far-off country like Russia. Yet, in recent years, Russia has intensified and diversified its engagement with Central America, expanding beyond Moscow’s traditional partner, the Republic of Nicaragua. Central American leaders want more trade and investment with Russia as Moscow seeks to bolster its presence in the Caribbean. However, tense relations between Managua and its neighbors could make Moscow’s defense cooperation with Nicaragua counterproductive. Seeking to become a significant player in the region, Moscow is set to expand its presence in Central America through bilateral and multilateral channels, a move that will likely affect the region’s conflicts.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, International Trade and Finance, Investment, and Engagement
Political Geography:: Russia, Latin America, and Central America

435. U.S.-China Constructive Interaction in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: Gianadrea Nelli Feroci
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Carter Center
Abstract:: In October 2019, The Carter Center was invited to participate in “China, US and Latin America Relations in a Transforming International Order,” organized by the Shanghai Institute of International Studies. There the Center presented a paper arguing that today instead of trilateral mechanisms, several existing regional multilateral frameworks could be used to promote constructive U.S.-China interaction in LAC. The paper provides a macro analysis and recommendations based on a comparative analysis of U.S. and Chinese strategy documents for LAC and existing regional multilateral development policy frameworks.
Topic:: International Relations, Regional Cooperation, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: United States, China, Asia, Latin America, and North America

436. Building Development Partnership: Engagement Between China and Latin America

Author:: Haibin Niu
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Carter Center
Abstract:: The full-fledged economic ties between China and Latin America and the Caribbean are important indicators of China’s role as a global player. In the ongoing and heightened debate about China’s rise, China’s impact on Latin America is being discussed by scholars and policymakers worldwide. Though there are doubts about China’s intentions and impact on Latin America, China has developed a more substantial and meaningful policy framework to build development partnership with the region.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, International Cooperation, and Economic Cooperation
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Latin America

437. China in Latin America: Major Impacts and Avenues for Constructive Engagement

Author:: Margaret Myers and Rebecca Ray
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Carter Center
Abstract:: Over the past two years, U.S. officials have sought to highlight China’s negative effects on the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region’s development and stability, whether to U.S. or Latin American audiences. As U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a trip to Mexico City in October 2018, "China has invested in ways that have left other countries worse off." Pompeo and other U.S. officials have also taken this message elsewhere in the region, cautioning against the effects of Chinese engagement on LAC governance, security, regulatory capacity, and financial stability, and in a rage of other areas. For Latin Americans, though, relations with China aren’t so black and white. China may be an imperfect partner for LAC, as many in the region will attest, but it is an increasingly important one. After nearly two decades of enhanced Chinese economic engagement with the region, LAC governments and economic sectors rely heavily on China’s economic partnership and inputs. China is LAC’s second most important trading partner, second most important source of mergers and acquisitions foreign direct investment, and top source of development finance. For South America, China’s importance is even more pronounced: It became the top export destination for South American goods in 2010. China’s effects on regional development are also mixed, as we demonstrate below. China’s contributions to the region’s economic growth are well-documented, but Chinese demand for raw materials has also accentuated regional dependence on these commodities, in a process of “re- primarization” in South American economies, with troubling implications for the region’s long-term development prospects. Chinese investments have transformed the energy sectors in some countries, but the environmental effects of hydroelectric and other projects will be long-lasting in certain cases. To achieve a wide range of development objectives—economic, environmental, and social—LAC must depend on increasingly well-planned and coordinated engagement from all of its major economic partners and donor nations, including China. This is especially true in times of growing uncertainty, as the region grapples with humanitarian and migration crises, growing populist tendencies, relentless corruption, and climate change, among other factors.
Topic:: Security, Corruption, Imperialism, International Cooperation, Governance, and Regulation
Political Geography:: United States, China, Asia, Latin America, and North America

438. China’s Recent Engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean: Current Conditions and Challenges

Author:: Enrique Dussel Peters
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Carter Center
Abstract:: Since the beginning of the 21st century, China’s presence in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been substantial in practically all socio-economic fields: cultural, bilateral and multilateral political issues, as well as trade, foreign direct investments, academic exchanges, and other areas. The main objective of this document is to analyze the effects of China’s presence in the region in terms of sustainable and long-term development, as well as its incidence in its relationship with the United States. Thus, the document will include a diagnostic to understand some of the specificities of the LAC-China socio-economic relationship, followed by the conclusion with a series of proposals. The first section of the paper will examine five issues that are relevant to understand general and specific topics about the China-LAC relationship: 1) general geostrategic and diplomatic topics to understand current tensions between the United States and China; 2) China’s proposal of a globalization process; 3) the concept of “new triangular relationships” and LAC’s challenges given increasing tensions between the United States and China; 4) particular developments and structures in trade, foreign direct investment, financing and infrastructure; and 5) the institutional framework between LAC and China. The second part of the paper focuses on a series of recommendations attempting to deepen and extend the China-LAC relationship and integrating the United States in it.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, Foreign Direct Investment, Culture, and Multilateral Relations
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Latin America, North America, and United States of America

439. High expectations. Interregional agendas on global security challenges: East Asia, Europe and Latin America

Author:: Manuel R. Torres Soriano
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Interregionalism has been increasingly used to advance cooperation on regional and global security challenges. This study examines three interregional dialogues comprising East Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Each interregional security agenda reflects specific concerns and different evolving paths. Insights from ‘multilateral security governance’ approaches can reinforce the analysis of how security agendas emerge and change, and how their related norms and practices evolve.
Topic:: Security, International Affairs, Governance, and European Union
Political Geography:: Europe, East Asia, and Latin America

440. Free trade agreements and regional alliances: support from Latin American legislators

Author:: Asbel Bohigues and José Manuel Rivas
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The creation of international organizations and the signature of free trade agreements have become common in Latin America. However, few studies have tackled the attitudes of political elites. This work aims to analyze the determinants of support by Latin American legislators for free trade agreements with the US and the EU, and for the Pacific Alliance and ALBA. Results show that ideology, pro-state/market positions, and trustworthiness vis-à-vis Chinese and Russian governments are the main predictors.
Topic:: Treaties and Agreements, Free Trade, and Elites
Political Geography:: Latin America

441. Beyond the Binary: Securing Peace and Promoting Justice after Conflict

Author:: Nelson Camilo Sánchez, Rodrigo Uprimny, Howard Varney, Michael Schwarz, Tatiana Rincón-Covelli, Claudio Nash, Tara Van Ho, and Oscar Parra
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: The main objective of Beyond the Binary is to place on record the need to formulate answers to the question of the role that criminal action and punishment should play in negotiated political transitions from war to peace. Discussions on the meaning and scope of concepts such as justice, accountability, and victim satisfaction continue to be fervent topics in specialized circles of what is now known as “the transitional justice field,” and in societies suffering from mass violence. Instead of solving the practical and theoretical dilemmas of these interpretative disputes, the experience and knowledge accumulated over the more than three decades that this field has been in existence have served only to deepen the debates and to adapt more of these discussions to new and constantly-changing scenarios and contexts.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peacekeeping, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Latin America and Global Focus

442. Addressing Inequality from a Human Rights Perspective: Social and Economic Justice in the Global South

Author:: César Rodríguez Garavito
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This book points to an emerging set of ideas and practices being developed by activists, scholars, and courts from a range of countries that reveals the potential of human rights to resolve other radical injustices and to build more robust civil society movements against inequality and deregulation. Numerous countries around the globe are witnessing a similar experience in their modern political contexts: democratic tools and human rights instruments—which have facilitated undeniable improvements in the lives of millions—are proving largely insufficient for preventing extreme forms of exclusion. In other words, while human rights have played a fundamental role in highlighting inequalities based on factors such as gender and ethnic and racial identity, they have coexisted alongside persistent socioeconomic injustices and the rise of authoritarian populist governments that are jeopardizing human rights institutions and principles worldwide. Against this panorama, some are arguing that the human rights movement is incapable of warding off social injustice, while others are calling for a separation of the human rights and social movements. This book offers a third way: it points to an emerging set of ideas and practices being developed by activists, scholars, and courts from a range of countries that reveals the potential of human rights to resolve other radical injustices and to build more robust civil society movements against inequality and deregulation.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Human Rights, Race, Social Movement, Political Activism, and Inequality
Political Geography:: Latin America

443. Participation in Transitional Justice Measures

Author:: María Paula Saffon and Viviana Tacha
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This book offers a comparative and critic study about the experiences of participation in the transitional justice. From a detailed study of 35 experiences of transitional justice corresponding to 20 countries, the document explores the different stages who have allowed to the victims and the civil society take part in the promotion, adoption and implementation of truth, justice, reparations and no repetition guarantees steps.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Transitional Justice, and Justice
Political Geography:: Latin America

444. Summary of the CEDD regional report

Author:: Colectivo de Estudios de Drogas y Derecho (CEDD)
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This publication is based on the Cannabis de Latinoamérica: la ola verde y los restos hacia la regulación report, and has the objective of analyzing the way punitive laws of drugs change disproportionately users, farmers and minor sellers of cannabis in the Americas, by sources of statistics information, official pieces of information and participants of the cannabis production process.
Topic:: Criminal Justice, Drugs, and Public Health
Political Geography:: Latin America

445. A New Social Contract for the Northern Triangle

Author:: Daniel F. Runde and Mark L Schneider
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: The Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA), made up of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, has experienced overwhelming economic, political, and security challenges in recent years. A combination of domestic challenges, including anemic economic growth, high rates of violence, and few jobs in the formal economy, have had international repercussions, such as an influx of unaccompanied minors (UACs) entering the United States in the summer of 2014 and the ongoing migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border.1 The United States remains a major partner for these three countries, disbursing over $401 million in foreign aid in FY2018, with strong bipartisan support for approving appropriations of $1.8 billion for FY17-19.2The NTCA countries also attract considerable foreign direct investment (FDI), surpassing $3.1 billion in 2017.3 While the United States has always played a powerful role in the NTCA region, the coverage in Washington tends to be erratic in its grasp of Northern Triangle issues. The region is portrayed as having insoluble problems with little in the way of progress. There is neither a “magic bullet” nor an “out of the box” solution to the problems of the Northern Triangle. Most of the solutions are relatively straightforward but politically hard and involve a mixture of economic, development, political, and security reforms. The problems of the region are, in fact, solvable, but they require sustained attention from the United States, political will in the NCTA countries, including cooperation rather than obstruction from elites in these societies, and ultimately strong and inclusive economic growth to go with strengthened governance.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, Foreign Aid, Regionalism, and Social Contract
Political Geography:: Latin America, North America, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and United States of America

446. Migrants and Political Change in Latin America, Luis F. Jiménez

Author:: Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: How do international migrants affect their origin countries’ politics? Drawing on evidence from the cases of Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico, Migrants and Political Change in Latin America argues that migrants gain new attitudes and economic resources as a result of experiences in their receiving countries that they then transmit to their origin countries through economic and social remittances and through return migration. Jiménez claims that by transmitting resources and ideas through these three channels, migrants create changes in the politics of their origin countries that they never intended or envisioned. These effects are mediated by local conditions in origin countries such as levels of education and wealth. Moreover, the social networks in which both types of remittances and return migrants are embedded augment their political effects.
Topic:: Migration, Politics, Book Review, and Political Science
Political Geography:: Latin America

447. Shared Class as an Electoral Heuristic in Brazil’s Local Elections

Author:: Peter G. Johannessen
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: Do voters use a candidate’s class as an electoral heuristic? And if so, how? Drawing on observational and experimental evidence from Brazil’s local elections (2004–2016), I provide evidence that voters use shared class to draw inferences about a candidate’s type: candidates from different classes receive similar overall levels of support, but receive disproportionate support from voters who share their class. The mechanisms driving this finding vary by a voter’s relative class position: upper-class voters use shared class to draw inferences about a candidate’s quality, trustworthiness, and distributive commitments, but lower-class voters only use shared class to draw inferences about a candidate’s trustworthiness and distributive commitments.
Topic:: Politics, Poverty, Democracy, Inequality, Citizenship, and Identities
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Latin America

448. Coworking Spaces in La Paz, Bolivia: Urban Effects and Potential Creation of New Opportunities for Local Economic Development

Author:: Lucas DuPriest
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: This paper investigates the location patterns of coworking spaces, the effects of coworking spaces on the local and urban context, and coworking spaces potential opportunities for the creation of local economic development, issues that have been neglected in a Bolivian context by the existing literature. The focus of this paper is on La Paz, Bolivia’s political capital and the city in Bolivia which host the largest number of coworking spaces. The paper addresses three main questions: (1) Where are the main locations of coworking spaces in La Paz? (2) to what extent do coworking spaces generate transformative effects on the local respectively the urban scale? (e.g. physical transformations, changes in practices, community building) (3) how do coworking spaces create potential opportunities for local economic development? Desk research demonstrated that location patterns of coworking spaces are concentrated to two main commercial areas of the city, as well as to the main infrastructural and transportation axes. Field research highlighted local and urban effects, such as local community initiatives and micro-urban transformations in both spaces and practices. Lastly, field research assessed coworking spaces role in the socio-economic ecosystem. Three main typologies have been identified: the first type of coworking spaces act as “social entrepreneurship and start-up incubators” with a supportive role and closer ties to social and urban issues, the second type of coworking spaces act as “coffee and cowork incubators” providing cafés with shared workspaces, the third type of coworking spaces act as “real estate business incubators” and are mainly a commercial product responding the demand for flexible office spaces. This paper, therefore, helps to fill the gap in the literature about the location patterns of these new working spaces and their effects at different scales both in terms of spaces and practices, as well as local economic development.
Topic:: Economics, Work Culture, Urban, Local, Innovation, Economic Development, and Social Capital
Political Geography:: Latin America and Bolivia

449. Natural gas pricing GSA Bolivia: Brazil using virtual hub and expected monetary value instruments

Author:: Sergio M. Medinaceli and Jorge L. Gumucio
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: The purpose of this paper is to show the shortcomings of incentive policies, specifically competitiveness, if they are designed without considering fundamentals of market development such as, level of demand, level of investment, and availability of alternative sources of supply. We focus on the analysis of the main market, financial, and economic variables in the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Supply Agreement, their relationship, development and dynamics through time and the current situation before the contract is renegotiated in 2019. Our analysis centers on the effective negotiation margin that Bolivia has calculated from the overall production costs of Bolivian gas (using EMV) vis a vis the opportunity cost of Brazil importing LNG. Using 10%-15% as discount rates and WTI prices between $50 and $60/bbl, the natural gas price result of EMV is between $ 4.96 and $ 7.99/MMbtu. Using the Bolivian tax incentive gas price should be between $2.29 and $5.16/MMbtu. Under the assumptions that WTI levels would be around $ 60/bbl, investors use a 15% discount rate to invest in Bolivia, incentive policy is in place, and the price of LNG is around $ 6.84/MMbtu; the opportunity cost of Brazil importing gas from Bolivia is $ -0.55/MMbtu. The same case without incentive policy will yield a $ -3.38/MMbtu. On the other hand, if the transport tariff is reduced the margin becomes positive under the assumption that the incentive policy is still in place. Therefore, as the price of LNG becomes more competitive through increase in supply (worldwide), Brazil will set its negotiation position around the price that they could import LNG on the short to medium term.
Topic:: Markets, Regional Cooperation, Natural Resources, Monetary Policy, Gas, Macroeconomics, and Economic Development
Political Geography:: Brazil, Latin America, and Bolivia

450. The Biological Standard of Living in Urban Bolivia, 1880s – 1920s: Stagnation and Persistent Inequality

Author:: Boris Branisa, José Peres-Cajías, and Nigel Caspa
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: Based on almost 5.000 direct observations on National Identification Cards, this paper offers the first estimation of the evolution of average heights in urban Bolivia for the decades 1880s-1920s. The analysis focuses on men aged 19-50 years registered in the city of La Paz. Despite city’s growing economic importance and modernization, average heights remained stagnant around 163 cm. This level is not so different to that found in the still disperse available evidence for rural Bolivia. Furthermore, there is evidence of inequalities throughout the period under study: those men who were indigenous, illiterate or worked in manual occupations were persistently shorter than non-indigenous, literates and non-manual workers, respectively. In coincidence with recent studies on Latin America, these findings suggest that the boost in exports and the regained dynamism of the economy that took place at the onset of the 20th century were not accompanied by improvements in biological standards of living.
Topic:: Economics, History, Urban, Welfare, Indigenous, and Modernization
Political Geography:: Latin America and Bolivia

451. Setting an example? Spillover effects of Peruvian Magnet Schools

Author:: Alejandro Herrera, Mariel Bedoya, Bruno Gonzaga, and Karen Espinoza
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: In this paper we use a Multi-Cutoff Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design to evaluate spillover effects of students enrolled into Peruvian public magnet schools, Colegios de Alto Rendimiento (COAR), on educational outcomes of younger students in their schools of origin. Using administrative data from the Ministry of Education for 2016, we find that having at least one student admitted in a COAR school causes some negative spillover effects on math test scores of students from the following cohort. No evidence of statistically significant results is found for verbal and history test scores, nor for self-reported educational expectations. We discuss potential causes and reasons that may explain our results.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Education
Political Geography:: Latin America and Peru

452. Hybrid Institutions: Institutionalizing Practices in the Context of Extractive Expansion

Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Postgraduate Program on Sustainable Development and Social Inequalities in the Andean Region (trAndeS)
Abstract:: States face the challenge of developing institutions to govern the activities of social actors when an area under their control becomes the target of increased extractive activities. National and local public regulations safeguarding the environment, the assignment of extractive rights to individuals or companies, and handling of ensuing conflicts are developed in an institutional gray zone. This paper analyzes how informal institutions developed in early period become hybrid institutional entanglements that depend largely on configurations of power. It does so by looking at two cases in Peru: Water extraction in Ica, mostly by large companies and gold mining in Madre de Dios, mostly by small scale miners. Taken together, these cases show the institutions resulting from state governance of extractive activities depends heavily on the agency and political leverage of the state but also of other social actors.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Environment, Natural Resources, Water, Institutions, and Ecology
Political Geography:: Latin America and Peru

453. Illiberal Democracy and the Struggle on the Right

Author:: Marc F. Plattner
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Democracy
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: With the longstanding dominance of center-left and center-right parties ebbing across Europe and Latin America, there is a growing danger that substantial segments of the right will be captured by tendencies indifferent or even hostile to liberal democracy. The 2019 elections to the European Parliament will provide a key test. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has transformed the debate by openly promoting the concept of “illiberal democracy.” Orbán seeks to equate liberal democracy as such with a set of policy positions supported by forces on the left, thereby prying conservatives away from their fundamental commitment to liberal democracy. This rising challenge has manifested itself in a struggle for control of the European Union’s center-right bloc, the European People’s Party, as well as in the recent writings of several political theorists identified with the conservative side of the political spectrum.
Topic:: Authoritarianism, Democracy, Liberal Order, Conservatism, and Illiberal Democracy
Political Geography:: Europe, Hungary, Latin America, and Central Europe

454. Modern Monetary Theory: Cautionary Tales from Latin America

Author:: Sebastian Edwards
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: dea has emerged in economic policy circles in the United States: “Modern Monetary Theory” (MMT). The central tenet of this view is that it is possible to use expansive monetary policy—money creation by the central bank (i.e., the Federal Reserve)—to finance large fiscal deficits, and create a “jobs guarantee” program that will ensure full employment and good jobs for everyone. This view is related to Abba Lerner’s (1943) “functional finance” idea, and has become very popular in progressive spheres. According to MMT supporters, this policy would not result in crowding out of private investment, nor would it generate a public debt crisis or inflation outbursts.
Topic:: Debt, Monetary Policy, Populism, Banks, Economic Policy, and Inflation
Political Geography:: Latin America

455. NATO AND THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

Author:: Carlos Gustavo Poggio Teixeira and Daniella da Silva Nogueira de Melo
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Institution:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Abstract:: In May 2018, Colombia was recognised as a NATO global partner, being the first Latin American country to formalize this relationship. The historical and political context of the South Atlantic differs from the reality of central and eastern Europe and the Middle East where the organization has mainly acted. In the last decades, NATO presence in the South Atlantic has received a little academic discussion. This is not due to lack of evidence, as the formation of partnerships with Colombia, Mauritania, joint military operations with Cape Verde, Ghana andother countries of the western African coast reveal the importance that the South Atlantic has acquired for the Alliance’s agenda and its members. This article intends to contribute to this gap in the literature.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, NATO, Military Affairs, and Global Security
Political Geography:: Colombia, Latin America, and South Atlantic

456. INTER-AMERICAN RELATIONS AFTER 9/11: OVERCOMING NEGLECT

Author:: Livia Peres Milani
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Institution:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Abstract:: The US Foreign Policy turn to the Middle East during the 2000s and the coming to power of left-leaning governments in Latin America was widely interpreted as a US neglect of the region and the beginning of a post-hegemonic era in the Western Hemisphere. Hakim (2006)argued that the US was losing interest to the region and Riggigorozzi and Tussie (2012)claimed the US decompression opened space to Latin American regionalism. These ideas became common sense, but they were rarely demonstrated (LONG, 2016). The recent reversion of that scenario, with the coming to power of right-wing governments and the US pressure on the Bolivarian Venezuelan government, makes clear that more research on the post 9/11 US policies to South America is needed.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Hegemony, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:: United States and Latin America

457. Belt and Road in Latin America: A regional game changer?

Author:: Pepe Zhang
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Four new BRI trends to watch: (i) enforcement of transparency, debt, and environmental safeguards; (ii) growing participation of the private sector; (iii) the role of the advanced economies in BRI; and (iv) new BRI sectors beyond infrastructure Governments and companies in Latin America and the Caribbean should engage and help shape an evolving BRI, mindful of both the opportunities and risks involved The United States can play a key role in setting standards for economic development projects in the region and beyond
Topic:: Energy Policy, Environment, Financial Markets, and Trade
Political Geography:: China, Asia, South America, and Latin America

458. Global Perspectives on Humanitarianism: When human welfare meets the political and security agendas

Author:: Ninna Nyberg Sørensen, Sine Plambech, Paolo Cuttitta, Gioconda Herrera, Ulla Dalum Berg, and Sealing Cheng
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Concern about the politisation of humanitarian principles and action is not new. As conflicts and emergencies have become ever more complex and the desire to hinder derived effects of cross-border movements by just about any means possible has intensified, humanitarian organisations and the work they do have nevertheless attracted increasing critical scrutiny, both within the organisations as well as from various external quarters including both governments and academics (albeit on different grounds). The Report ‘Global perspectives on humanitarianism: When human welfare meets the political and security agendas’ is based oncomprehensive research undertaken in Europe, Latin America and Asia. It takesissue with various questions and dilemmas emerging from humanitarian relief practices. Can you avoid political instrumentalization when reducing harm withoutchanging the structures that produce harm in the first place (e.g. poverty, war or insecurity)?What happens to humanitarianism when those in need of protection have different perspectives on the kinds of interventions that would relive them from suffering (e.g. access to asylum and work rather than food provisions)? And what critical lessons can be learned from exploring the wider effects of rescuing migrants from high-risk journeys as part of the governance of global migration? Apart from an introduction to humanitarianism in the context of global migration and refugee movements, the report consists of three individual case studies focusing on respectively humanitarianism enacted on the maritime EU border in the central Mediterranean; a variety of recent state-defined migration crises in Latin America deriving from Cuban, Haitian and Venezuelan mass migrations combined with massive forced return movements of nationals deported from the United States and Europe; and, finally, the tensions between asylum seekers and the organisations that pledge to assist them in Hong Kong. Together, the contributions raise important questions of the directions humanitarianism may take during moments defined as ‘crisis’.
Topic:: Humanitarian Aid, Migration, and Refugee Issues
Political Geography:: Asia, South America, and Latin America

459. Latin America's Evolving Migration Crisis: Venezuelans flee accelerating collapse

Author:: Ninna Nyberg Sørensen and Cesar Castilla
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Venezuela is facing a deep economic, political, and social crisis, with acute shortages of food, medicine and other basic goods. Over 3.4 million Venezuelans, a tenth of the population, have left the country, presenting Latin America with an unprecedented migration crisis. However, diaspora engagement in humanitarian efforts could also be part of the solution to the crisis. RECOMMENDATIONS ■ The exodus illustrates increasing difficulty distinguishing between voluntary and forced migration. To overcome barriers in accessing protection and social services, migrants and refugees must be granted legal status in receiving countries. ■ The migration crisis is politicized by many actors. Supply routes for vital humanitarian assistance are needed, but historical experiences should warn against the use of military force or other forms of intervention. ■ UN efforts to complement humanitarian help with development assistance to poorer reception areas should be supported. Ways to connect the Venezuelan diaspora to ongoing humanitarian and future development efforts directed at Venezuela should also be pursued.
Topic:: Migration, United Nations, Economy, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, and Venezuela

460. The Political Economy of Testing in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:: Barbara Bruns, Maryam Akmal, and Nancy Birdsall
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not implemented testing of children’s learning that can be benchmarked regionally or globally. In contrast, in the last two decades, almost all countries in Latin America have participated in regionally and globally benchmarked testing initiatives. Our analysis of the political economy of cross-national learning measurement in Latin America suggests that policymakers perceive the risks of exposing their education system’s performance by joining cross-national assessments, but they also value the quality of the data generated, the strengthening of domestic technical capacity, and the political benefits in using comparative results to argue for reforms or to advertise progress. We document that in Ecuador and Peru cross-national tests played an important role in both stimulating and justifying reforms that have produced major improvements in learning. In sub-Saharan Africa, no cross-national test has been implemented as consistently or widely as the Latin American regional test. The context in Africa makes regional cooperation on cross-national testing more daunting—countries are poorer and more linguistically diverse than in Latin America, raising the relative costs of developing and administering cross-national tests. The experience of Latin America suggests that a coordinated and efficient application of resources in implementing cross-national tests in Africa, on the part of countries and with support of the international community, could help build countries’ national capacity, strengthen focus on learning, support better research, and help diffuse reforms that raise learning.
Topic:: Education, Political Economy, Children, and Social Services
Political Geography:: Africa, South America, Latin America, North America, and Sub-Saharan Africa

461. The Strategic Price of Neglect

Author:: Peter Schechter
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: Latin America is a good mirror of our times; an apt measurement of the zeitgeist of doubt. Having cemented its democracies and reformed its economies, some of America’s closest Latin American friends are reassessing their options and realigning their interests away from the United States. Our closest regional friends are realizing that the United States may no longer be the fulcrum of Latin America’s future. While America’s soft power—its culture, innovation, and ethos—are still highly attractive, the fact is Europe, Asia, and China are capturing much of the region’s political imagination and economic attention. At a time of fast change, it is hard to think strategically. Yet, strategy is what will be needed to re-prioritize Latin America within U.S. foreign policy.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation, Regionalism, and Strategic Stability
Political Geography:: Latin America, North America, and United States of America

462. The U.S. Military in Support of Strategic Objectives in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: Dr. R. Evan Ellis
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: This article examines the role that the U.S. military plays, and can play, in advancing U.S. strategic objectives in Latin America, with a focus on security cooperation and administration of security assistance efforts, as part of coordinated whole-of-government approach. It argues for greater U.S. military attention to the development and application of strategic concepts built around strengthening governance, as the approach that is both appropriate to sensitivities and limitations regarding the employment of U.S. armed forces in Latin America, and as an effective bulwark against the cycle of criminality, corruption, and populism that opens the door for significant strategic threats against the United States. These include authoritarian anti–U.S. governments that serve as enablers for widespread criminality, terrorist threat networks, and collaboration with hostile extra-hemispheric state actors such as Russia and the People's Republic of China.
Topic:: Corruption, Military Strategy, Governance, Hegemony, Strategic Interests, and Influence
Political Geography:: Latin America, Caribbean, North America, and United States of America

463. Extra-regional Actors in Latin America: The United States is not the Only Game in Town

Author:: Douglas Farah and Kathryn Babineau
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: In a multipolar world, jockeying for a geopolitical edge is not uncommon nor necessarily a threat. However, in the case of Latin America, none of the primary competitors with the United States share any of its fundamental values of fostering democracy and rule of law, nor strategic objectives such as drug interdiction, halting migrant flows, or building a mutually beneficial regional security structure. In fact, China, Russia, and Iran see the United States as an enemy and views diminishing U.S. influence and weakening its standing as strategic imperatives.The current trajectory in the Hemisphere cannot be altered solely with displays of military power or occasional threats and sanctions against bad actors. A genuine-whole-of-government strategic approach, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military components, is the only option to shrink the operational space of adversaries intent on diminishing the influence and effectiveness of the United States in Latin America
Topic:: International Cooperation, Military Strategy, Hegemony, Democracy, and Influence
Political Geography:: Latin America, North America, and United States of America

464. Only Connect: the Survival and Spread of Organized Crime in Latin America

Author:: Ivan Briscoe and David Keseberg
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: Deeply entrenched over decades, organized crime has married with systemic corruption and high levels of impunity to generate multiple forms of political and economic capital across the ideological spectrum in Latin America. But recent experience gives some provisional grounds for optimism. The end point of popular disaffection with flawed democracies and illicit links between criminal groups, political elites, and the private sector need not inevitably result in an embrace of authoritarianism and/or charismatic caudillos.
Topic:: Corruption, Crime, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Private Sector, and Organized Crime
Political Geography:: Latin America and North America

465. Latin America and the Caribbean: Between the Neoliberal Offensive and New Resistances

Author:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:: Our dossier no 22 presents the challenges confronting popular movements in Latin America and the Caribbean in the face of a new advance of imperialism, the right-wing, and neoliberal projects in the region. These policies have grave consequences for the people and have corroded the legitimacy of the governments that propel them forward, developing new processes of popular struggle, mobilizations, uprisings, protests, and resistances. In this context, it is necessary for Latin American critical thought to reflect on the methods and capacity to promote an alternative anti-neoliberal, anti-racist, anti-patriarchal, anti-capitalist subjectivity.
Topic:: Neoliberalism, Protests, Resistance, and Mobilization
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, and North America

466. Venezuela and Hybrid Wars in Latin America

Author:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:: Dossier no. 17 reflects on the hybrid war unleashed against Venezuela. We document the repertoire of tactics, but also the motives behind them. We are interested not only in the recent attack on Venezuela, but in the similarities between this attack and others in Latin America over the past decades. This general onslaught in Latin America needs to be understood not in terms of the war against this country or that one, but in terms of the method of domination that shape the current neo-liberal and imperialist offensive in the region.
Topic:: Military Strategy, Neoliberalism, Conflict, and Hybrid Warfare
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Venezuela, and North America

467. The ebbing of the Pink Tide or permanent underdevelopment? Dependency theory meets uneven and combined development

Author:: Felipe Antunes de Oliveira
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex
Abstract:: Latin America is once again passing through a crisis. After initially showing promising results, the neodevelopmentalist strategy adopted in Brazil and Argentina has reached its limits. The attempt at 21st century socialism in Venezuela derailed, tearing the country apart. Finally, the neoliberal path dutifully followed by Mexico, Chile, Colombia and smaller countries perpetuated social inequalities, and is now menaced by President Trump's protectionist turn. The current Latin American crisis goes much beyond the reversion of the so-called "Pink Tide". It affects all ideological colours, raising again an old theoretical-political question that stood in the core of dependency theory: is development even possible in Latin America? The key to answer this question – a concept of development that captures non-converging transformation – was not available to Frank, Marini, Bambirra and Dos Santos, among other dependency theorists. Too easily conflating development with catching-up, they reached a dead end. Indeed, as they could see, Latin America was constantly changing, but not in the expected ways. In this paper, I suggest that the concept of uneven and combined development allows for a renewed engagement with dependency theory's core problem, by representing mixed forms of development as the norm, not the exception.
Topic:: Debt, Development, Economics, International Development, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: Brazil, Colombia, Latin America, Venezuela, Mexico, and Chile

468. Amérique latine - L’année politique 2017

Author:: Javier Corrales, Olivier Dabène, Gaspard Estrada, Antoine Faure, Erica Guevara, Marie-Esther Lacuisse, Damien Larrouqué, Nordin Lazreg, Frédéric Louault, Antoine Maillet, Frédéric Massé, and Luis Rivera Vélez
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Abstract:: Amérique latine - L’Année politique is a publication by CERI-Sciences Po’s Political Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean (OPALC). The study extends the work presented on the Observatory’s website (www.sciencespo.fr/opalc) by offering tools for understanding a continent that is in the grip of deep transformations.
Topic:: Corruption, Crime, Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Sovereignty, Peacekeeping, Protests, Political Science, Regional Integration, Transnational Actors, and Borders
Political Geography:: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Latin America, Nicaragua, Caribbean, Haiti, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and Bolivia

469. La gouvernance des organisations régionales latino-américaines Etude comparée du rôle des secrétaires généraux (The Governance of Latin American Regional Organizations A Comparative Study of the Role of General Secretaries)

Author:: Kevin Parthenay
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Abstract:: In Latin America, as elsewhere in the world, regional and subregional organizations have multiplied recently. Scholars tend to focus on the variety of regionalisms or their ever changing nature (postliberal, post-hegemonic...). This study, through a political sociology of regionalism approach, examines Latin American regions and their actors and goes beyond the first set of questions. In this perspective, scrutinizing the regional General Secretaries of the sub-continent is particularly useful to understand how regional powers emerge. With a specific focus on the Southern Common Market (UNSUR), the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the Central American Integration System (SICA), this research offers a more precise answer to the question of the configuration of power within Latin American regionalisms.
Topic:: Sovereignty, Sociology, Governance, Multilateralism, Political Science, Regional Integration, and Networks
Political Geography:: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Latin America, Nicaragua, Caribbean, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia

470. Japan’s Trade Strategy in the 21st Century and Economic Partnership with Latin American Countries

Author:: CEBRI
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:: On November 30, 2017, the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI), in partnership with the Consulate of Japan in Rio de Janeiro, hosted a fruitful debate with Dr. Yorizumi Watanabe, Professor at Keio University in Japan. Among other topics, the Professor emphasized Japan’s strategy of negotiating bilateral Economic Partnership Agreements with countries in Asia and beyond, complementing its liberalization commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Topic:: International Political Economy
Political Geography:: Latin America

471. Energy Access and Affordability Voluntary Action Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: Philippe Benoit
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: Argentina, President of the G20, recently released the “Energy Access and Affordability Voluntary Action Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean”, prepared by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) & Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE). CGEP Scholar Philippe Benoit served as the lead author of the report (on assignment from the IDB). The report builds on the previous G20 reports prepared for Africa and Asia-Pacific. The LAC Region enjoys access levels that are relatively high compared to other developing zones, but it faces important challenges in connecting the “last mile”. The Region also faces repeated extreme weather events which present the special challenge of access recovery (a major issue for Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Puerto Rico). One of the report’s innovations is that it extends the access effort beyond electricity and clean cooking to residential heat. The report also focuses on the importance of improving affordability of energy for the poor, as well as for other households and businesses.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Recovery, and Electricity
Political Geography:: Africa, Asia, Latin America, Central America, Caribbean, and Puerto Rico

472. A Strategy for Cybersecurity Governance in Brazil

Author:: Louise Marie Hurel and Luisa Cruz Lobato
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: This study explores the institutionalization of the cybersecurity agenda in Brazil and seeks to identify opportunities for multi-stakeholder cooperation. It analyzes the key moments and processes that marked the development of the country’s current cybersecurity architecture, highlighting the tensions which arose with the introduction of the agenda as a national security priority. The description of the cybersecurity governance ecosystem in Brazil opens up new avenues for the identification of solid opportunities for cooperation between different sectors inherently involved in the construction of this agenda — as much in the technical field (cryptography and incident response) as in the elaboration of legislation, policies, and awareness campaigns.
Topic:: Security, National Security, Regional Cooperation, Governance, Cybersecurity, and Legislation
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

473. Enhancing Peacekeeping Training Through Cooperation

Author:: Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Giovanna Kuele, and Ariane Francisco
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: There is growing recognition at the UN and among member states that peacekeeping must be made more effective, especially in face of major budget cuts and wavering leadership by traditional actors. Against this backdrop, how can member states improve the quality of pre-deployment and mission preparation for UN peacekeeping? This policy brief focuses on one area in which innovation has become more urgent than ever: enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping through better training. More specifically, we analyze the emerging configurations, innovations, and challenges of international cooperation for peacekeeping training centers (PTCs), drawing on the case of Latin America.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, Regional Cooperation, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Training, and Peace
Political Geography:: Latin America

474. Citizen Security in Latin America: Facts and Figures

Author:: Robert Muggah and Katherine Aguirre Tobón
Publication Date:: 04-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: Many Latin American countries, states and cities are facing a chronic public security crisis. In spite of more than a decade of modest economic growth, crime and victimization rates are rising, not dropping. Nevertheless, recent information of 2017 show some signs of improvement. Criminal violence is routinely singled out as one of the top concerns of citizens from across Mexico, Central America and South America. And there are warning signs that the region ́s high rates of criminal violence and victimization will continue rising if nothing is done. Latin American priorities and approaches to public security have shifted over the past two decades, with growing attention devoted to citizen security. In contrast to traditional law and order approaches to crime, citizen security privileges a more comprehensive and people-centered conceptualization of security and safety – including more data-driven policing, smarter approaches to criminal justice, alternatives to incarceration, and investments in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. The following report sets out the broad parameters of Latin America ‘s crime challenges and explores innovations in promoting public safety and citizen security. It also underlines the heterogeneity of Latin America ́s security environment, including the strong differences between regions, countries, states and cities. Taken together, the report issues a descriptive assessment of the scope and scale of the challenges, as well as opportunities for CAF to support partners in their efforts to prevent and reduce crime and improve safety for all Latin Americans.
Topic:: Security, Crime, International Security, Violence, and Data
Political Geography:: Latin America and Mexico

475. Palliative Care: A Human Rights Approach to Health Care

Author:: Isabel Pereira
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This report compiles the results of a research project aimed at describing the current palliative care situation in eight Latin American countries. The project’s general objective—to raise awareness and influence public policy around the need to approach palliative care from a human rights perspective—was achieved through rapprochement among professionals from various fields in the region, which in and of itself is a key step forward in terms of bringing together communities that defend patients’ rights with communities that advocate a drug policy embracing a public health focus.
Topic:: Health and Health Care Policy
Political Geography:: Latin America

476. The Brazilian model of Investment Agreements and Socio-environmental Safeguards

Author:: Maria Elena Rodriguez and Gabriel de Barros Torres
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: BRICS Policy Center
Abstract:: With the purpose of contributing to expanding transnational investment flows, Brazil signed, in 2015, a series of Cooperation and Investment Facilitation Agreements (CIFAs) with African and Latin American countries. Among its provisions, the CIFAs feature distinctive characteristics in terms of direct (and indirect) expropriation, corporate social responsibility, dispute settlement mechanisms and national treatment clauses – ultimately, aiming to provide greater legal certainty for investors. However, civil society organizations have warned against the potential impact of this new model of investment agreements on the autonomy of states to establish regulations in the public interest. As such, this Quarterly Brief seeks to analyze similarities and differences between the new Brazilian CIFAs and traditional bilateral investment agreements – as well as to evaluate them in light of alternative frameworks, elaborated by civil society networks, aimed at balancing investment promotion with human and environmental rights protection.
Topic:: Civil Society, Environment, Treaties and Agreements, Regulation, Social Justice, Land Rights, and Public Health
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

477. Challenges for the Republic of China: Diplomatic Relations within Latin America after the Regime Rotation in 2016

Author:: Elisa Hsiu-chi Wang
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: Due to the policy of “diplomatic truce” during the presidency of Ma Ying-Jeou, and the good will of mainland China, from 2008 to 2016, generally speaking, the number of ROC’s diplomatic allies remained stable, except in November 2013, when Gambia cut its diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 20, 2016, some changes are expected in cross-Strait relations between Mainland China and Taiwan, given the reluctance of President Tsai to express her support to the 1992 Consensus, and the previous reactions of Mainland China. Nowadays, among the 20 ROC diplomatic allies, 11 are located in Latin America. This article tries to respond to the following questions: Is it possible to go back to the bilateral diplomatic competition for recognition by different ally countries, like that maintained during the governments of Lee Tenghui and Chen Sui-bian? Will Mainland China intend to seize more countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan in order to press Tsai for closer cross-Strait relations? Will the Taiwan´ diplomatic allies in Latin America turn to Mainland China, accepting its offers and incentives?
Topic:: International Relations, Diplomacy, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:: China, Taiwan, Asia, and Latin America

478. Religious Conservatism on the Global Stage: Threats and Challenges for LGBTI Rights

Author:: Juan Marco Vaggione, José Manuel Morán Faúndes, and María Angélica Peñas Defago
Publication Date:: 11-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
Abstract:: In the past few decades, the religious landscape underwent a series of changes throughout the world. Whether due to migrations or the strategic policies of religious institutions, some religions have modified their range of influence. These movements rekindle debates about the geopolitical influence of religion on societies in general, and on sexual politics specifically.
Topic:: Religion, Conservatism, LGBT+, Sexuality, and Philanthropy
Political Geography:: Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Global Focus

479. Spring 2018 edition of Strategic Visions

Author:: Alan McPherson
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Strategic Visions
Institution:: Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy, Temple University
Abstract:: Contents News from the Director .................................. 2 Spring 2018 Colloquium ............................ 2 Cuba in War and Peace ............................... 3 Spring 2018 prizes ....................................... 3 TURF-CreWS Papers....................................4 Fall 2018 Colloquium Preview ................ 4 Final Words.....................................................5 Note from the Davis Fellow........................... 6 News from the CENFAD Community ......... 7 Profile of Dr. Eileen Ryan ............................... 9 The U.S. Military’s 2018 National Defense Strategy .............................................................. 12 Book Reviews .................................................. 17 Doyle, Don. H., ed. American Civil Wars: The United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Crisis of the 1860s.... 17 McAdams, A. James. Vanguard of the Revolution: The Global Idea of the Communist Party ....................................... 20 Judith L. Van Buskirk, Standing in Their Own Light: African-American Patriots in the American Revolution ................... 22 Burnidge, Cara Lea. A Peaceful Conquest: Woodrow Wilson, Religion, and the New World Order. ..................... 24
Topic:: Civil War, Communism, Diplomacy, Military Affairs, and Woodrow Wilson
Political Geography:: United States, Latin America, and Global Focus

480. Mapping the Syrian Diaspora: A Global Player in the Reconstruction of Syria

Author:: Bassma Kodmani and Hana Jaber
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:: Before 2011, the Syrian diaspora worldwide was estimated at 18 million people who migrated over more than a century and have mostly contributed actively to their host communities. This old diaspora has now increased with the wave of Syrian refugees who fled - and continue to flee - Syria because of the ongoing conflict. Over the past seven years, seven million Syrians - not all registered refugees – have fled the country out of a total population of 24 million before the conflict. The Arab Reform Initiative (ARI) conducted a research project between Spring 2017 and 2018 to study Syrian diaspora around the world after the 2011 uprising, map its features and explore the interactions of Syrian migrant communities with the conflict in Syria. To draw a map of these interactions, ARI commissioned a group of researchers to prepare studies on Syrian diaspora in North America, Latin America, and Europe. Regarding the Middle East, researchers conducted studies on the presence of Syrians in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt as well as Gulf States, with Qatar and the UAE as case example. Furthermore, ARI prepared three papers on the experiences of other diaspora groups in the region, namely the Armenian, the Palestinian, and Lebanese, with a view to comparing them with the Syrian case and draw lessons from them. Finally, ARI shared a questionnaire with the researchers to use with Syrian personalities (academics, businesspeople, engineers, etc.) so as to explore the motives that could encourage or deter them from contributing to channel the potential of the Syrian diaspora to help in the recovery of the Syrian society in Syria and abroad. Researchers also focused on the living conditions of Syrian communities, new and old, in diaspora countries. The ensuing report draws a new globalized network of relationships characterized by the following:
Topic:: Globalization, Diaspora, Refugees, and Revolution
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Syria, and North America

481. Arabism and its Repercussions: Forms of Solidarity among Syrians in Latin America

Author:: Cecilia Baeza
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:: This paper examines the stance taken by the Syrian diaspora in Latin America vis-à-vis the war in Syria and how it envisions its aftermaths. It builds on an ethnographic field research and analysis carried out between 2011 and 2014 in Argentina and Brazil, and expands its scope by including a questionnaire prepared by ARI on the diaspora’s future role in the reconstruction Syria in a post-conflict scenario. The questionnaire has been sent to Syrian immigrants and descendants from Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The first section examines the patterns of Syrian emigration to Latin America and its diasporization process under the influence of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Ba’ath. The second section shows how those historical elements have impacted the diaspora’s attitude towards the conflict in Syria. The last section analyzes the answers to the questionnaire and identifies the main topics of shared interest.
Topic:: Civil War, Diaspora, Refugees, and Revolution
Political Geography:: Middle East, Brazil, Argentina, Latin America, Syria, Mexico, Chile, and Damascus

482. Cuba before its third universal periodic review of human rights

Author:: Gabriel C. Salvia
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:: In the previous review, carried out in 2013, the Cuban government categorically rejected the most relevant recommendations on their human rights violations, which persist today. This can be seen in the most recent Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports. From the Southern Cone of South America, it is important for countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay to participate in Cuba’s next Universal Periodic Review (UPR), to stand out for the defense of human rights, which would contribute to their commitment of strengthening democracy in the Latin American region.
Topic:: Human Rights and Democracy
Political Geography:: South America, Cuba, and Latin America

483. Urban Transport in the Sharing Economy Era: Collaborative Cities

Author:: CIPPEC
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Book
Institution:: Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC)
Abstract:: More than half of the global population lives in cities, an increase of 15 percent over the last 35 years. Driven largely by population growth and a search for better living conditions and work opportunities, this trend is expected to continue. With 80% of its population living in cities, Latin America is the second most urbanized region on the planet and is estimated that by 2050 approximately 90% of its population will be urban (UN-Habitat, 2012).
Topic:: Economics, Urbanization, Digital Economy, Urban, Transportation, and Cities
Political Geography:: Argentina, Latin America, and Global Focus

484. Donald J. Trump y las Relaciones Cuba-Estados Unidos en la Encrucijada

Author:: Soraya M. Castro-Mariño, Margaret Crahan, Martin Carnoy, William M. LeoGrande, Margaret Crahan, Carlos Ciaño Zanetti, James A. Nathan, Dalia González Delgado, Jorge I. Domínguez, Manuel R. Gómez, Sunamis Fabelo Concepción, Max Paul Friedman, Raul Rodríguez Rodríguez, Víctor López Villafañe, Ruvislei González Saez, Carlos M. Gutiérrez, Robert Muse, José Gabilondo, Michael P. Hatley, William A. Messina Jr., Rafael Betancourt, Ramón Pichs Madruga, Robert L. Bach, Marta Núñez Sarmiento, and Geoff Thale
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies at Columbia University
Abstract:: El propósito central de esta obra radica en evaluar el deterioro que ha tenido lugar en las relaciones Cuba-Estados Unidos durante el primer periodo de mandato del presidente Donald J. Trump. El texto es resultado de la XVI Serie de Conversaciones Cuba-Estados Unidos de América, celebrada en diciembre de 2017 y patrocinada por el Centro de Investigaciones de Política Internacional adscrito al Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales “Raúl Roa García” de La Habana (CIPI-ISRI). Desde diferentes ángulos se analizan el entorno internacional y el regional, así como los acontecimientos que están teniendo lugar en Cuba y en Estados Unidos, lo cual brinda múltiples explicaciones a procesos en pleno desarrollo. Sin embargo, estos contextos reflejan signos contradictorios que expresan una circunstancia histórica concreta, donde nacionalismos y populismos de extrema derecha han capitalizado el momento político internacional. En esa dirección es lógico prestarle atención a Estados Unidos y a la presidencia de Donald J. Trump, la cual más que causa es síntoma de la crisis que vive el país y refleja inmensas transformaciones y grandes desalientos basados, entre disímiles causas, en una insondable inequidad socio-económica y política. La respuesta es la agenda conocida como “America First”, que adolece de una mirada estratégica a mediano y a largo plazo, y pone en duda el papel de ese país en el Orden Mundial en el siglo XXI. El libro está destinado a audiencias interesadas en entender estas profundas problemáticas, sus causas y, particularmente, las negativas consecuencias que han tenido en el incipiente proceso hacia la normalización de relaciones con la República de Cuba, iniciado en diciembre de 2014. Al mismo tiempo, intenta explicar esta coyuntura como un paréntesis pues, más tarde que temprano, se deberá regresar a la lógica de la cooperación y la colaboración entredos países que, más allá de sus diferencias, comparten historia y un mismo entorno geográfico.
Topic:: Security, Economics, Migration, Bilateral Relations, Elections, Investment, and Donald Trump
Political Geography:: China, Cuba, Latin America, Caribbean, North America, and United States of America

485. A World on the Move: Trends in Global Student Mobility

Author:: Rajika Bhandari and Institute of International Education
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:: A World on the Move highlights key developments currently influencing student mobility in higher education in the United States and globally. Drawing upon Open Doors, Project Atlas and other sources of global data, the analysis points to a continuing demand for an international higher education in many parts of the world. Against the backdrop of recent trends, this report provides insight into the context of international student mobility.
Topic:: Employment, Mobility, and Higher Education
Political Geography:: Africa, China, Europe, Middle East, Canada, Asia, Germany, Latin America, North Africa, Australia/Pacific, Caribbean, North America, and United States of America

486. The Security Challenges of Chile: Conceptions for Different Scenarios / Los desafíos de seguridad para Chile: definiciones para escenarios múltiples

Author:: Jaime Baeza Freer and Leslie Wehner
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: This article analyses the evolution of the security concept used by Chile. This piece studies the different security dimensions in which Chile operates such as domestic and regional. In this sense, the article also focuses on Chile’s relation towards Latin America and its vocation to be an active actor in peacekeeping operations. Likewise, this article also pays attention to Chile’s involvement in multilateral security organizations such as the current state of the South American Union (UNASUR).
Topic:: Security, Human Security, and South American Union (UNASUR)
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, and Chile

487. The challenge from the periphery: Latin America’s New Deals and the shaping of Liberal Internationalism in FDR’s Era

Author:: José Antonio Sanchez Roman
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: FDR’s policies, in particular the New Deal, became a sort of global brand, and created a transnational space of discussion. Many in the periphery, in particular in Latin America, appropriated the notion and labeled their own proposals as their own New Deals. These proposals produced an alternative international cooperative order, not necessarily the one wished by American elites. Latin America’s appropriation and reinterpretation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s message stirred controversies and disputes in the United States, within the liberal internationalist sectors, both in political positions and private actors. This article explores the reaction of certain U.S. liberal elites to the way Latin Americans appropriated and shaped international Rooseveltian ideas. It argues that some American internationalist elites feared that the way in which Latin Americans understood the New Deal and the Good Neighbor Policy might push development ideas abroad beyond the pale, as it might encourage the more radical stance of FDR administration at home, and it might jeopardize an American-led reorganization of the international order.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, International Order, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and New Deal
Political Geography:: Latin America, North America, and United States of America

488. The impact of the 1949 Chinese Revolution on a Latin American Chinese community: shifting power relations in Havana’s Chinatown

Author:: Albert Manke
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article argues that, while initially constrained by U.S. Cold War policies both in the Americas and in Asia, China’s 1949 Communist Revolution could finally have a transformative impact on Latin American Chinese overseas community after the Cuban Revolution opened up new avenues for socialist influence in Latin America. By using new archival sources and interviews, we will analyze this changing impact by highlighting the intertwined layers of shifting power structures with a specific focus on the Chinese community in Cuba.
Topic:: Cold War, Communism, History, Diaspora, Revolution, and transnationalism
Political Geography:: China, Cuba, Latin America, and United States of America

489. Rising to the Populist Challenge: A new Playbook for Human Rights Actors

Author:: César Rodríguez and Krizna Gómez
Publication Date:: 04-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This book collects and analyzes a repertoire of responses by human rights organizations to the crackdown against civil society in the populist context. Written by scholars and advocates in challenging political settings from around the world, this book offers ideas and inspiration to their peers in the human rights community who are grappling with and resisting the erosion of democracy and rights. This collection takes two steps towards clearing the path for this civil society transformation. First, it clarifies the specific challenges to human rights raised by contemporary populist regimes and movements. What is the populist playbook against human rights? Second, it contributes to documenting and learning from a wealth of initiatives by human rights actors. What innovations are human rights actors introducing into their strategies and narratives to counter those of populist regimes? In short, what is the human rights playbook against populism?
Topic:: Human Rights, Democracy, and Populism
Political Geography:: Latin America and Global Focus

490. The Inter-American System as a Tool for Ensuring Access to Pain Relief and Palliative Care

Author:: Diana Guarnizo Peralta
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: This document is aimed at medical personnel, civil society organizations, policy makers, and anyone interested in addressing the issue of palliative care from a human rights perspective. Although for years palliative care was confined to a strictly medical analysis, in recent times the international community and United Nations bodies have recognized palliative care as a human rights issue. This document seeks to demonstrate the many linkages between palliative care and human rights in terms of both the conception and the protection of palliative care. We hope this report serves as a useful tool for the medical community, patients, and patients’ families throughout the American continent who seek legal and human rights arguments to facilitate access to more humane end-of-life care, as well as for litigants and human rights activists who wish to protect and guarantee a life without pain for patients, including during their last days of life.
Topic:: Civil Society, Health, Health Care Policy, Public Policy, Public Health, and Medicine
Political Geography:: Latin America

491. The Future of Latin America and the Caribbean in the Context of the Rise of China

Author:: Dr. R. Evan Ellis
Publication Date:: 11-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: There are numerous analyses about China and its future, as well as about Chinese engagement with Latin America. This report examines, in detail, how the growth of China, with its power and role in the global economy, is likely to transform Latin America and the Caribbean through economic, political, and other forms of engagement with the region. The report considers multiple scenarios regarding the future of China, the resolution of its security challenges, and possible departures from its current trajectory. It focuses primarily on the question of what Latin America and the Caribbean will look like if China succeeds in its ongoing economic and political engagement in the region. Compared to scenario-oriented analyses, this report does not attempt to predict the detailed political ebbs and flows of the region. Instead, it examines economic sectors to understand how the region will be transformed through its intimate economic relationship with China and its part in a global process in which Chinese companies continue to expand their presence in the region. While the report also looks at military issues and the likely evolution of Latin America’s relationship with the United States, it finds equally dramatic implications for China’s willingness to use its soft power in the region. While this report does not claim that China has nefarious objectives to politically dominate the region, or usurp the United States as a superpower, it does find evidence that the logical extension of China’s current expansion plans threatens to relegate the region to a future of limited economic opportunity and personal liberty. This is seen in China’s actions to pursue its development interests, dominate the most lucrative parts of global value chains, and expand China’s power with a questionable level of respect for Western concepts of universal laws, rights, and freedoms. As China continues in the pursuit of these goals, compromised elites serve the transfer of wealth and resources from the Latin American region and other "Belt and Road" region to the new imperial center.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Hegemony, Foreign Interference, and Regional Power
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, and North America

492. On the Identification of Gross Output Production Functions

Author:: Amit Gandhi, Salvador Navarro, and David Rivers
Publication Date:: 05-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP), Western University
Abstract:: We study the nonparametric identification of gross output production functions under the environment of the commonly employed proxy variable methods. We show that applying these methods to gross output requires additional sources of variation in the demand for flexible inputs (e.g., prices). Using a transformation of the firm’s first-order condition, we develop a new nonparametric identification strategy for gross output that can be employed even when additional sources of variation are not available. Monte Carlo evidence and estimates from Colombian and Chilean plant-level data show that our strategy performs well and is robust to deviations from the baseline setting.
Topic:: Economics, Human Capital, Econometrics, and Productivity
Political Geography:: Colombia, Latin America, and Chile

493. Journal of Advanced Military Studies: Gender Integration and the Military

Author:: Natalia Zalietok, Steven Merritt Miner, Ann Todd, William A. Taylor, María Concepción Márquez Sandoval, Bradford A. Wineman, Rebecca Jensen, and Shlomi Chetrit
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:: Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:: The past century has demonstrated a clear history of crossing lines and breaking down barriers. With each advancement, women were told “no further.” And with each subsequent generation, women pushed the boundaries to do more—until there were no more boundaries. In December 2015, thenSecretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter announced that all military occupational specialties were open to women. Carter declared that “they’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat. They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers, and everything else that was previously open only to men.”4 The history of women in the Marine Corps offers only one small part of the story. Women across the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the world have their own experiences, their own stories to tell. Few know these stories, as the focus usually remains on one’s own Service or country. A gap exists in understanding how other militaries have (or have not) integrated women successfully. This special issue is intended to fill that gap and provide differing perspectives on how other militaries have dealt with gender integration. Every Service and nation has walked its own path toward full integration of women. Some, such as the former Soviet Union and Israel, witnessed tremendous gender integration advances during wartime—World War II and the War for Independence, respectively—only to see those improvements nearly disappear during peace. Others made steady progress, experiencing full integration early on (e.g., Canada in the late 1960s). Still others advanced in some areas but waited decades for others (e.g., Australia integrated submarines in the 1990s but only opened infantry to women a few years ago). The authors here offer a variety of histories describing this journey of integration of women into the armed services of a variety of countries and cultures. From Mexico to Israel as well as the United Kingdom and the former Soviet Union, the diversity of experiences becomes clear. The reasons for integration (or not) are as diverse as the nations’ cultures and offer unique insights into how a nation views women and their contribution to their community and their country, for the integration of women reflects directly on their role in society.
Topic:: Gender Issues, History, Military Affairs, Women, Psychology, and World War II
Political Geography:: Britain, Israel, Soviet Union, Palestine, Latin America, and United States of America

494. Integral Human Development Through the Lens of Sen’s Capability Approach and the Life of a Faith Community at the Latin American Urban Margins

Author:: Séverine Deneulin
Publication Date:: 04-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: The concept of integral human development is central to the Catholic social tradition. Yet, it remains under-explored with regard to its integrating components and their implications. What does taking an integral human development perspective mean for social analysis and action? The paper seeks to answer this question on the basis of the four encyclicals in which the idea of integral human development is treated, and in combination with two other sources: 1) the literature on “human development” in the multidisciplinary social science field of international development studies and its conceptual foundations in Amartya Sen’s capability approach; and 2) the life of a faith community in a marginalized Latin American urban neighborhood. Based on a combination of these sources, the paper concludes by proposing an understanding of “integral human development” that it calls a spirituality-extended capability approach to the progress of peoples.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Education, Poverty, Religion, Inequality, Youth, Violence, Christianity, and Catholic Church
Political Geography:: Argentina, South America, and Latin America

495. Can Conditional Cash Transfer Programs Improve Collective Action? Lab-in-the-Field Evidence on Coordination and Social Norms

Author:: Sandra Polanía-Reyes
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: This study tests an unintended benefit of a conditional cash transfer program in Colombia: the ability to overcome coordination failures. Participants interact with fellow beneficiaries, which gives rise to a coordination device. Beneficiaries participate in a minimum effort coordination game. Those enrolled in the program for over a year are exerting the highest level of effort. The improvement in coordination is not due to potential confounds such as willingness to cooperate or connectivity. A structural choice model illustrates that when beliefs about other’s behavior are sufficiently high the Pareto- dominant equilibrium holds. The findings support nascent initiatives to influence beliefs through policy interventions.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Political Economy, Poverty, Communications, Governance, Inequality, Economic Growth, Public Policy, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Colombia, South America, and Latin America

496. A Comparative Study of Lula's Diplomacy in the Middle East and Ahmadinejad in Latin America

Author:: Mendelski de Souza Bruno
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: The article compares Lula’s foreign policy to the Middle East with Ahmadinejad’s to Latin America. Methodologically, the historical concepts of each diplomacy is combined with empirical data on trade flows and diplomatic actions. It is argued that the implementation of foreign policies involved similar (presidential diplomacy) and distinct means (universalism and multilateralism by Brazil, and personalism, bilateralism and low institutionalization by Iran). The results of diplomacies also resembled: although the economic implications were modest, Brasilia politically increased its global projection capacity, while Tehran relatively reduced its international isolation.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: Middle East, Brazil, South America, and Latin America

497. The Social Construction of External Aggression in Latin America: A Comparison Between Costa Rica and Ecuador

Author:: Marco Vinicio Mendez-Colo
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: External aggression is an analytic category used by Latin American States regardless the governmental ideology or their political affiliations. A comparative study conducted out between two Latin American Small States enables to understand the regularities in their behavior when facing such kind of threat, in terms of their role identity, objective and subjective interests and consistently their foreign policy actions at the domestic, bilateral, sub-regional and regional level. This article argued that the small states are more vulnerable to the external aggressions because of their lack of material resources and their need of external support, compromising their sovereignty and territorial integrity, and requiring the activation of multilateral mechanisms such as the Organization of American States and other regional and sub-regional institutions.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Sovereignty, OAS, and Agression
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Costa Rica, and Ecuador

498. How Social Inequalities Affect Sustainable Development: Five Causal Mechanisms Underlying the Nexus

Author:: Bettina Schorr
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Postgraduate Program on Sustainable Development and Social Inequalities in the Andean Region (trAndeS)
Abstract:: Since the publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987, social inequality has been a topic of concern for the international development community. In the last decade, given the rise of global inequality the subject gained even more prominence as several international organizations (UNDP, World Bank, OECD) began emphasizing the negative impact of social inequality on human well-being. The Agenda 2030, the current development strategy adopted by the United Nations in 2015, elevated “reducing inequality” to one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Goal No. 10). This paper connects with this growing concern over the impact of social inequalities on the opportunities for sustainable development. It proposes a research agenda for the social sciences to contribute to the debate by identifying the causal mechanisms that constitute the nexus between social inequalities and sustainable development. The focus on these intermediary steps is important in order to understand in more detail the barriers that social inequalities pose for more sustainable social, economic and ecological arrangements. This is especially necessary when it comes to designing or implementing strategies (political or technological) that aim to promote sustainable development, above all in highly unequal societies.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Inequality, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability, and Ecology
Political Geography:: Argentina, Latin America, and Chile

499. Unpacking the 2030 Agenda as a Framework for Policymaking

Author:: Gonzalo Alcalde
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Postgraduate Program on Sustainable Development and Social Inequalities in the Andean Region (trAndeS)
Abstract:: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is more than a set of goals and targets: it is a comprehensive “plan of action” that countries are translating into relevant policies. While this plan recognizes a need for different national paths towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it also provides guidance for policymaking, establishing means of implementation and follow-up and review mechanisms that are indivisible from the SDGs. Moreover, analyzing the 2030 Agenda as a framework for policymaking reveals general principles that are both explicit and implicit in the UN’s Transforming Our World document. After examining previous relevant UN and OECD frameworks; official 2030 Agenda documents; current international literature on the SDGs, and consulting key 2030 Agenda stakeholders in Peru, this paper identifies eight general principles for sustainable development policymaking in 2030 Agenda implementation that are relevant to all SDGs and sectors, and suggests areas for further research.
Topic:: Development, United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals, Economic Development, Sustainability, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Political Geography:: Latin America, Peru, and Global Focus

500. Latin America’s Shifting Politics: Mexico’s Party System Under Stress

Author:: Kenneth F. Greene and Mariano Sanchez-Talanquer
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Democracy
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: On 1 July 2018, leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) won a decisive victory in Mexico’s presidential election, while a coalition led by AMLO’s National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) claimed majorities in both houses of Congress. AMLO’s calls for change resonated with voters frustrated by chronic poverty and inequality, rising violence, and corruption, and his win has called into question the stability of Mexico’s party system. Yet AMLO, who strove to assemble a “big tent” coalition, is ultimately more a product of the system than a disruptive outsider. Moreover, clear programmatic differences among Mexico’s major parties persist, as do the institutional advantages they enjoy. It is thus most probable that MORENA’s ascent augurs a recomposition of the party system rather than a process of partisan dealignment.
Topic:: Poverty, Elections, Democracy, Inequality, and Political Parties
Political Geography:: Latin America, North America, and Mexico

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS