Latin America's radical Left : challenges and complexities of political power in the twenty-first century

Author(s)

• Ellner, Steve

Bibliographic Information

Latin America's radical Left : challenges and complexities of political power in the twenty-first century

edited by Steve Ellner

（Latin American perspectives in the classroom）

Rowman & Littlefield, c2014

• : pbk
• : hbk

Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This timely book explores the unique challenges facing the left in Latin America today. The contributors offer clear and comprehensive assessments of the difficult conditions and conflicting forces that have brought to power the current leftist regimes in Latin American and the Caribbean and are shaping their development. Avoiding the widely accepted but simplistic dichotomy of "good" and "bad" left or democratic and antidemocratic left, the book first sets the theoretical and historical context for understanding the rise of the left in the region. It then provides case studies of the radical left in power in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador and its influence in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Cuba. Thematic chapters consider social and labor movements and debates over problems arising from the democratic transition to socialism. The book points to concrete circumstances in which theoretical issues related to reform and change have played out in nations where the left is in power. These include prioritization of social over economic objectives, the role of the state in the democratic road to socialism, and ecological as opposed to developmentalist strategies. Finally, the book examines the opposition to radical governments in power coming not only from the right but also from movements to their left. With its balanced and thorough assessment, this study will provide readers with a deep and nuanced understanding of the complexity of the political, economic, and sociocultural reality of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean. Contributions by: Marc Becker, Roger Burbach, George Ciccariello-Maher, Hector M. Cruz-Feliciano, Steve Ellner, Federico Fuentes, Marcel Nelson, Hector Perla Jr., Camila Pineiro Harnecker, Thomas Purcell, Diana Raby, William I. Robinson, and Kevin Young

Table of Contents

Foreword: The Global Significance of Latin America's New Radical Left William I. Robinson Introduction: Complexities of the Twenty-First-Century Radical Left in Power Steve Ellner Part I: Theoretical, Historical and International Background Chapter 1: The Radical Left's Turbulent Transitions: An Overview Roger Burbach Chapter 2: Brief Hypotheses on the State, Democracy, and Revolution in Latin America Today Diana Raby Chapter 3: Institutional Conflict and the Bolivarian Revolution: Venezuela's Negotiation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Marcel Nelson Part II: The Twenty-First-Century Radical Left in Power in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador Chapter 4: Social and Political Diversity and the Democratic Road to Change in Venezuela Steve Ellner Chapter 5: "Bad Left Government" versus "Good Left Social Movements"? Creative Tensions within Bolivia's Process of Change Federico Fuentes Chapter 6: Rafael Correa and Social Movements in Ecuador Marc Becker Part III: Influences of the Twenty-First-Century Radical Left in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Cuba Chapter 7: The Twenty-First-Century Road to Socialism in El Salvador and Nicaragua: Making Sense of Apparent Paradoxes Hector Perla Jr. and Hector M. Cruz-Feliciano Chapter 8: Cuba's New Socialism: Different Visions Shaping Current Changes Camila Pineiro Harnecker Part IV: Economy, Society, and Media Chapter 9: The Political Economy of Social Production Companies in Venezuela Thomas Purcell Chapter 10: Constituent Moments, Constitutional Processes: Social Movements and the New Latin American Left George Ciccariello-Maher Chapter 11: The Good, the Bad, and the Benevolent Interventionist: U.S. Press and Intellectual Distortions of the Latin American Left Kevin Young Chapter 12: Concluding Observations: The Twenty-First-Century Radical Left and the Latin American Road to Change Steve Ellner

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BB16345895
• ISBN:
  • 9781442229495
  • 9781442229488
• LCCN: 2013043658
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Lanham
• Pages/Volumes: xiv, 291 p.
• Size: 23 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : HN110.5.Z9
  • DC23 : 320.53
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Radicalism -- Latin America
  • LCSH : New Left -- Latin America
  • LCSH : Power (Social sciences) -- Latin America
  • LCSH : Social movements -- Latin America
  • LCSH : Latin America -- Politics and government -- 21st century
  • LCSH : Latin America -- Social conditions -- 21st century
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA56976828