FROM PETISTA WAY TO BRAZILIAN WAY: HOW THE PT CHANGES IN THE ROAD

When Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva won Brazil’s presidency in 2002, he and his Workers’ Party (PT) had most observers convinced that this was a watershed moment for the country’s democracy. After all, the PT had built a reputation for over twenty years for good government and ethics in politics. Yet Lula’s government has been severely undermined by corruption scandals, which surprised the most cynical PT-watchers and fostered broad disillusionment among many long-time PT supporters. This article lays out four interweaving strands of explanation for the PT’s fall from grace, involving: the high cost ofBrazilian elections, the strategic decisions of the party’s dominant faction, economic constraints on an eventual Lula administration, and the difficulties of multi-party presidential systems

DIPL 6806 Political Economy of Latin America and the Caribbean

This seminar provides an overview of major approaches to the study of political economy in Latin America, past and present development trends, and recent debates over economic policy. The course begins with classic questions of the mutual reciprocal relations between politics and economics before covering the major debates between structural and institutional approaches. It proceeds by examining the switch from import-substituting industrialization to export-led growth models in the 1980s and 1990s as well as the effects of and reactions to the rise of neoliberal economic policies. The last several weeks examine new reform efforts in industry, agriculture, finance, and administration as well as the current economic crisis. Course readings balance theory and empirics, range across methodologies and academic disciplines, and provide contrasting normative perspectives

DIPL 4101 AB 5101 AB Senior Research Project/Diplomacy Honors Thesis Project

This course is designed to help students learn research, writing, and oral communications skills that they can apply to all academic and professional pursuits. The ultimate goal is to complete a well-written, strongly argued, and thoroughly documented Senior Research / Honors Thesis Project. The course structure includes both class and individual meetings. The first several weeks mix class and individual meetings with the professor to focus on helping students turn their research interests into a research puzzle, find and use sources, develop hypotheses, conceptualize variables, identify an effective research design, and present their ideas professionally in public settings. The next several weeks help students shape their particular projects, with a focus on writing, revising, and providing effective feedback to fellow students. During the last weeks, the students formally present their research and constructively critique one another’s presentations

DIPL 3850/CORE 3850 Church, State, and Politics in Latin America

This course has two central objectives: to provide students with an understanding of the evolving role of religion in Latin American politics, with a primary emphasis on the role of Catholicism and the Catholic Church from the period of the Second Vatican Council until the present; and to provide students an opportunity to reflect on the normative questions of how religious beliefs and religious institutions should affect politics and of how different political systems and state policies should affect the practice of religion. Major themes, examined through both Catholic and non-Catholic perspectives, include the institutional relationship between the Catholic Church and the state, the different political expressions of Catholicism (from those inspired by Liberation Theology to supporters of Christian Democratic or Conservative political parties), the persecution of the Church under certain authoritarian regimes, the rise of religious and political pluralism, and the role of religion in contemporary politics and public policy

DIPL 6806 Political Economy of Latin America and the Caribbean

This seminar provides an overview of major approaches to the study of political economy in Latin America, past and present development trends, and recent debates over economic policy. The course begins with classic questions of the mutual reciprocal relations between politics and economics before covering the major debates between structural and institutional approaches. It proceeds by examining the switch from import-substituting industrialization to export-led growth models in the 1980s and 1990s as well as the effects of and reactions to the rise of neoliberal economic policies. The last several weeks examine new reform efforts in industry, agriculture, finance, and administration as well as the recent economic crisis. Course readings balance theory and empirics, range across methodologies and academic disciplines, and provide contrasting normative perspectives

DIPL 6802 Peoples and Cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean

This seminar provides an overview of major approaches to the study of Latin American politics and society. It emphasizes.both a historical perspective and an analysis of current trends and issues. Using various analytical lenses, including cultural, structural, institutional, and rational choice perspectives, the course focuses on the different kinds of political regimes and the patterns of political change that have characterized Latin American countries in the past century. We will take up several specific questions: Why have some countries in Latin America enjoyed more stable political systems than others? Why have some countries faced severe threats from guerrilla movements and even major social revolutions, while others succumbed to military coups, especially in the 1960s and 1970s? Why did Latin America experience a wave of democratization in the 1980s and what are the prospects for the consolidation of democracy in the region in the twenty-first century? In answering these questions, the course will provide a survey of the region’s political development, with particular emphasis on four countries: Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela

DIPL 3850/CORE 3850 Church, State, and Politics in Latin America

This course has two central objectives: 1) to provide students with an understanding of the evolving role of religion in Latin American politics, with a primary emphasis on the role of Catholicism and the Catholic Church from the period of the Second Vatican Council until the present; and 2) to provide students an opportunity to reflect on the normative questions of how religious beliefs and religious institutions should affect politics and of how different political systems and state policies should affect the practice of religion. The major themes, to be examined through both Catholic and non-Catholic perspectives, include the institutional relationship between the Catholic Church and the state, the different political expressions of Catholicism (from those inspired by Liberation Theology to supporters of Christian Democratic or Conservative political parties), the persecution of the Church under certain authoritarian regimes and the Catholic response, the rise of religious and political pluralism, and the role of religion in contemporary politics and public policy

DIPL 6801 US Foreign Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean

This seminar examines the major foreign policy doctrines applied by the United States in Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine through the Good Neighbor Policy and the Alliance for Progress until the recent agendas combining the “War on Terror” and “Free Trade.” We will ask questions such as how US policy is shaped, why it has changed over time, which policies are most effective in securing mutually beneficial relationships, and what the policy options are with regard to key issues such as trade, immigration, drugs, and democracy promotion. The seminar focuses on developing analytical, writing, and presentational skills

DIPL 4806/6806 Political Economy of Latin America and the Caribbean

This seminar provides an overview of major approaches to the study of political economy in Latin America and the Caribbean, past and present development trends, and recent debates over economic policy. The course begins with classic questions of the mutual reciprocal relations between politics and economics before covering the major debates between structural and institutional approaches. It proceeds by examining the switch from import-substituting industrialization to export-led growth models in the 1980s and 1990s and the effects of and reactions to the rise of neoliberal economic policies and then the commodity boom, as well as race and racism in the Americas. The topics of the last five weeks, to be determined in consultation with students, will include a variety of current policy issues. Course readings balance theory and empirics, range across methodologies and academic disciplines, and (usually) provide contrasting normative perspectives