Latin American Politics

Will Europe crumble while Latin America thrives? This section of the Standing Group on Latin American Politics calls for papers that illuminate the systemic, institutional, and policy factors that account for a puzzling phenomenon: the fact that in the last few years we have witnessed a reversal of fortune, with the IMF running in support of the Old World while several Latin American countries have paid off their debts and even lent money to the formerly abhorred institution. This section on Latin American Politics aims at bringing together scholars addressing comparative features but also relational elements that might explain diverging pathways of both regions. On the one hand, we are interested in contributions that look into the international political economy, regional organisations, and innovative leaderships. On the other, we call for papers dealing with domestic institutions and processes. Comparative approaches focusing on political institutions, political actors, public policies, or political economy are examples of issues that are critical to the workings and outcomes of contemporary Latin American political systems where overall successes in the consolidation of democratic regimes have shifted political research to the study of the quality and effects of democratic processes.