The Quality of Democracy in Latin America

In considering the nature and future prospects of the current wave of democracies in Latin America, analysis has shifted from a concern with regime change, transitions, and consolidation to a focus on the quality of these democracies. To what extent, for example, do citizens participate and influence decisionmaking? Are elections free and fair? Are there ways of ensuring government accountability? Do unelected power brokers exert undue influence?

Furthering this new approach, the authors of The Quality of Democracy in Latin America provide a rich, nuanced analysis—centered on a multidimensional theoretical foundation—of democratic systems in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.