소개
As a wave of abrupt transitions from authoritarian rule swept across Latin America in the 1980s, the idea of ‘deepening democracy’ emerged as a guiding principle of the political Left and social movements in much of the region. It has, however, proved very difficult to implement in practice. Comparative analyses of the very different experiences in Chile and Peru lead the author to suggest that the new project of the Left is heavily contingent on the organization of collective action in civil society, a process that has been slowed by the effects of economic crises, market liberalization, and electoral competition. The book sheds new theoretical light on the structural and institutional forces that have not only hampered the political success of the Left, but also limited the scope and quality of democratic practices in contemporary Latin America.