Politics and Institutions in Latin America

Abstract

Latin America offers rich institutional diversity which provides an ideal environment for analyzing both classic and more recent theoretical and methodological advancements made within comparative politics in other regions such as the US or Europe. With increasingly available data, students of Latin American politics have been able employ inductive approaches, allowing for theory-testing in a region that is becoming more present in comparative political studies. This panel aims at examining the performance of political institutions in Latin America from a comparative or case-study perspective, and presenting Politics as a fundamental explanatory variable in the performance of public institutions. The articles discussed in this panel contrast the theoretical and actual functioning of institutions. This section covers the following questions: How does the institutional design and performance affect the region? Do visible factors that explain the variation in certain outcomes and processes driven by actors and institutions? The papers discuss the topics including: The performance of institutions in Brazil, the effects of available parliamentary resources on legislative production from a comparative perspective, how the political game affect institutions and politics, interactions between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches after constitutional reforms in Ecuador and Bolivia, and the role of political parties as an explanatory of emigration policies in Congress.

Title	Details
Legislative Activity in Latin America: To What Extent do Parliamentary Resources Influence in Levels of Legislative Production?	View Paper Details
Right Defenders, Arbiters of Political Conflicts or Simply Puppets of Political Powers? Comparing the Roles of Supreme and Constitutional Courts in Latin America	View Paper Details
Does Efficiency Mean Coherent Policies? Central American Congresses and Their Role in Migration Policy	View Paper Details
Judicialisation of Social Conflict	View Paper Details