Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jorge Gordin Author-X-Name-First: Jorge Author-X-Name-Last: Gordin Author-Email: gordin@giga-hamburg.de Title:Editorial Abstract:Editorial of Vol. 1, No. 1 (2009) of the "Journal of Politics in Latin America" (JPLA). Pages: 3-4 Creation-Date:2009-04 File-URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/19/19 File-Format: Application/pdf Keywords: Publishing; Political Science Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Year: 2009 Handle: RePEc:gig:joupla:v:1:y:2009:i:1:p:3-4 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Adam Przeworski Author-X-Name-First: Adam Author-X-Name-Last: Przeworski Author-Email: adam.przeworski@nyu.edu Title:The Mechanics of Regime Instability in Latin America Abstract:The paper is narrowly addressed to a single puzzle: How did it happen that countries that attempted to install democracy earlier enjoyed it less frequently? Regime dynamics are driven by two mechanisms: (1) Democracies become more durable as per capita income increases, and (2) Past experiences with democracy destabilize both democracies and autocracies. As a result, countries that experiment with democracy at lower income levels experience more regime instability. Moreover, until they reach some income threshold, at any time such countries are less likely to be democratic than countries that first enter democracy when they have higher incomes. Hence, paradoxically, the resistance of European monarchies against democracy resulted in democracies that were more stable than those following postindependence attempts in Latin America. Pages: 5-36 Creation-Date:2009-04 File-URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/20/20 File-Format: Application/pdf Keywords: Democracy; Political Systems Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Year: 2009 Handle: RePEc:gig:joupla:v:1:y:2009:i:1:p:5-36 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Kurt Weyland Author-X-Name-First: Kurt Author-X-Name-Last: Weyland Author-Email: kweyland@austin.utexas.edu Title:Institutional Change in Latin America: External Models and their Unintended Consequences Abstract:Influential theories claim that institutions shape actor behavior but are sustained by these actors’ behavior. How do scholars escape from this trap of endogeneity? This article highlights a partially exogenous factor: institutional models and blueprints. Since these ideational schemes do not emerge from actor preferences, they play an independent, irreducible role in institutional creation. In fact, Latin America has borrowed many blueprints from the “First World.” But transferred to a different setting, these imported models often fail to command firm, reliable compliance and do not operate well. Therefore, informal mechanisms arise and guide behavior. External borrowing thus produces persistent disjunctures in institutional development. Pages: 37-66 Creation-Date:2009-04 File-URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/21/21 File-Format: Application/pdf Keywords: Political Systems; Institution Building Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Year: 2009 Handle: RePEc:gig:joupla:v:1:y:2009:i:1:p:37-66 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mark Jones Author-X-Name-First: Mark Author-X-Name-Last: Jones Author-Email: mpjones@rice.edu Author-Name: Wonjae Hwang Author-X-Name-First: Wonjae Author-X-Name-Last: Hwang Author-Email: whwang@utk.edu Author-Name: Juan Micozzi Author-X-Name-First: Juan Author-X-Name-Last: Micozzi Author-Email: jmicozzi@rice.edu Title:Government and Opposition in the Argentine Congress, 1989-2007: Understanding Inter-Party Dynamics through Roll Call Vote Analysis Abstract:This article employs roll call vote data and Bayesian ideal point estimation to examine inter-party dynamics in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies between 1989 and 2007. It highlights the presence in the Argentine Congress of a strong government vs. opposition dimension as well as identifies the relative position on this dimension, vis-à-vis the governing party, of the most prominent non-governing parties. Special attention is paid to the evolution of inter-party legislative dynamics during Argentina’s brief experience with coalition government (1999-2001) and to party behavior in the Chamber during the final two years of President Néstor Kirchner’s term in office (2005-07) Pages: 67-96 Creation-Date:2009-04 File-URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/22/22 File-Format: Application/pdf Keywords: Political Parties; Relations between Government and Parliament Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Year: 2009 Handle: RePEc:gig:joupla:v:1:y:2009:i:1:p:67-96 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Timothy Power Author-X-Name-First: Timothy Author-X-Name-Last: Power Author-Email: timothy.power@brazil.ox.ac.uk Title:Compulsory for Whom? Mandatory Voting and Electoral Participation in Brazil, 1986-2006 Abstract:Latin America contains roughly half of the world’s countries that use compulsory voting, but this electoral institution has received only limited attention from researchers. This article examines the determinants of voter turnout in the world’s largest electorate subject to mandatory voting, that of Brazil. In analyzing data from six national legislative elections held in Brazil between 1986 and 2006, the study finds that the impact of compulsory laws varies across social and economic groups. From a methodological perspective, the article argues that “compulsoriness” of mandatory voting legislation can be modeled by taking into account both exemptions to the law and the relevance of potential sanctions against non-voters. The issue of enforcement must be considered if we are to develop comprehensive models of electoral participation under conditions of compulsory voting. Pages: 97-122 Creation-Date:2009-04 File-URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/23/23 File-Format: Application/pdf Keywords: Voting Systems; Political Participation Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Year: 2009 Handle: RePEc:gig:joupla:v:1:y:2009:i:1:p:97-122 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Laura Wills-Otero Author-X-Name-First: Laura Author-X-Name-Last: Wills-Otero Author-Email: laurawillsotero@gmail.com Title:From Party Systems to Party Organizations: The Adaptation of Latin American Parties to Changing Environments Abstract:Review Article: