Building New Democracies : : Economic and Social Reform in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico / / Michel Duquette.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press eBook-Package Archive 1933-1999
• VerfasserIn: Duquette, Michel,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2016]; ©1999
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in Comparative Political Economy and Public Policy
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 p.)

In Building New Democracies Michel Duquette analyses the main public policies of Brazil, Chile, and Mexico to explore examples of how countries make the transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic society. The main objective of the book is to follow the process of policy formation in very young democracies. Duquette isolates the specific problems that surround decision-making in a transitional government, showing how legislating structural change does not guarantee democratic success. He offers a general model of domestic and international policy-making as a response to the problems of achieving fundamental political reform. The effectiveness of public policies depends on factors including competing ideologies, inexperienced political leaders, rising political organizations, rule by coalition parties, and the influence of local politicians and technocrats. It is with the alliance of grassroots organizations and autonomous institutions, Duquette believes, that social and economic exclusion will be overcome on a national level. Building New Democracies is primarily theoretical in its analysis, but integrates many recent empirical findings from a wide body of international and Latin American research, including the author's own field work.The methodology Duquette employs is genuinely comparative and not merely a juxtaposition of case studies. His approach and conclusions can be applied to a number of disciplines, including political science, economics, sociology, and Latin American studies.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- PART ONE: DOMESTIC DETERMINANTS OF ECONOMIC REFORMS -- 1 Identifying the Variables Relevant to the Study of Adjustment -- 2 The Determination of the Political Executive to Undertake Market Adjustment -- 3. The Role of Competent and Honest Technicians -- 4. The Autonomy of the Reformist State -- 5 The Influence of Electoral Cycles -- 6 Privileged Linkages with Corporate Interest Groups -- 7 A New Relationship between State and Labour -- 8 Assessing the Economic Performance of Reforms -- PART TWO: INTERNATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF ECONOMIC REFORMS -- 9 Gaining International Support for Domestic Reform -- 10 Adjustment through Regional Integration -- 11 Regional Integration in Support of Market-Oriented Policies -- 12 Obstacles to Integration in Partially Liberalized Markets -- 13 Theoretical Linkages between Regional Determinants and Endogenous Variables -- 14 Will MERCOSUR Support the Consolidation of Southern Cone Democracies? -- PART THREE: DETERMINANTS OF SOCIAL REFORMS -- 15 Adjustment against Justice -- 16 Agrarian Reform and the Modernization of Agriculture -- 17 The Issue of Science and Education -- 18 Public Intervention against Marginality -- 19 In Search of Political Conditions to Pursue Social Policies -- Conclusions -- Appendix: Tables -- References -- Index