Building New Democracies

New democratic regimes are often made up of broad and poorly defined coalitions. Their leaders are supported by social groups which were shut out during the previous government, and all of these are calling for social justice and a decisive shift in public policy. New democracies, however, have very little room to manoeuvre. If they seek help and understanding from the Northern liberal democracies, they are frequently disappointed. South American leaders belong to an entirely different political culture from their North American counterparts. Generally speaking, international organizations and leaders of developed countries display little knowledge of Latin American conditions ... In a fully developed market, the state is only one player among many. This is not quite the case with Latin America, where the market is poorly connected to an anaemic local demand, and state intervention is modest in scope, and therefore highly selective. Book jacket.

Michel Duquette is a professor in the Department of Political Science at l'UniversitT de MontrTal.l.