Democracy and the public space in Latin America / Leonardo Avritzer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Avritzer, Leonardo.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Collective behavior--Political aspects--Latin America.

Collective behavior.

Democracy--Latin America.

Democracy.

Political culture--Latin America.

Political culture.

Political participation--Latin America.

Political participation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (202 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This is a bold new study of the recent emergence of democracy in Latin America. Leonardo Avritzer shows that traditional theories of democratization fall short in explaining this phenomenon. Scholars have long held that the postwar stability of Western Europe reveals that restricted democracy, or "democratic elitism," is the only realistic way to guard against forces such as the mass mobilizations that toppled European democracies after World War I. Avritzer challenges this view. Drawing on the ideas of Jürgen Habermas, he argues that democracy can be far more inclusive and can rely on a sphere of autonomous association and argument by citizens. He makes this argument by showing that democratic collective action has opened up a new "public space" for popular participation in Latin American politics. Unlike many theorists, Avritzer builds his case empirically. He looks at human rights movements in Argentina and Brazil, neighborhood associations in Brazil and Mexico, and election-monitoring initiatives in Mexico. Contending that such participation has not gone far enough, he proposes a way to involve citizens even more directly in policy decisions. For example, he points to experiments in "participatory budgeting" in two Brazilian cities. Ultimately, the concept of such a space beyond the reach of state administration fosters a broader view of democratic possibility, of the cultural transformation that spurred it, and of the tensions that persist, in a region where democracy is both new and different from the Old World models.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

ONE. Democratic Theory and Democratization

TWO. Democratic Theory and the Formation of a Public Sphere

THREE. Democracy and the Latin American Tradition

FOUR. The Transformation of the Latin American Public Space

FIVE. Democratization in Latin America The Conflict between Public Practices and the Logic of Political Society

SIX. Participatory Publics in Brazil and Mexico The Compatibility of Public Deliberation and Complex Administration

SEVEN. Concluding Remarks on the Democratizing Role of Participatory Publics

NOTES

REFERENCES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-198) and index.

ISBN:

9786612087561

9786612935275

9781282087569

1282087568

9781400825011

1400825016

9781282935273

1282935275

9781400814152

1400814154

OCLC:

52243890