The Woodrow Wilson Center Press
In the Wake of War: Democratization and Internal Armed Conflict in Latin America
Related Topics: Democracy, Democratic Transition, Latin America
In the Wake of War assesses the consequences of civil war for democratization in Latin America, focusing on questions of state capacity. Contributors focus on seven countries—Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru—where state weakness fostered conflict and the task of state reconstruction presents multiple challenges. In addition to case studies, the book explores cross-cutting themes including the role of the international community in supporting peace, the explosion of post-war criminal and social violence, and the value of truth and historical clarification.
This book completes a fifteen-year project, "Program on Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America," which also led to the 1999 publication of the book Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America.
What People are Saying
"By detailing the structural factors that have affected the prospects for democracy in these war-torn states, this book should be of keen interest to observers of postwar societies and democratization both within Latin America and beyond."—Foreign Affairs
"This book is invaluable and there is a need for it. It is important to try to assess the longer-term legacy of civil war in Latin America."—Cynthia McClintock, George Washington University
"The authors pull together rich and detailed insights from the most remote corners of Latin America, which are complemented by comparative analyses and regional perspectives."—David Shirk, University of San Diego
Chapter List
Contents
Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction: Conflict, Democratization, and the State
Cynthia J. Arnson
2 Democracy and Governance in Conflict and Postwar Latin America: A Quantitative Assessment
Dinorah Azpuru
Commentary: Democratic Consolidation in Postconflict States in Latin America—Insights from the Peace-Building and Fragile States Literature
Stewart Patrick
3 The Peace Process and the Construction of Democracy in El Salvador: Progress, Deficiencies, and Challenges
Ricardo Córdova Macías and Carlos G. Ramos
4 The Limits of Peace and Democracy in Guatemala
Edelberto Torres-Rivas
5 Nicaragua’s Pacted Democracy
Shelley A. McConnell
6 A Historical Perspective on Counterinsurgency and the “War on Drugs” in Colombia
Marco Palacios
Commentary: Two Decades of Negotiation in Colombia— Contrasting Results and Missed Opportunities
Ana María Bejarano
7 Peace in Peru, but Unresolved Tasks
Carlos Basombrío Iglesias
8 The Crisis in Chiapas: Negotiations, Democracy, and Governability
Raúl Benítez Manaut, Tania Carrasco, and Armando Rodríguez Luna
9 An Illusory Peace: The United Nations and State Building in Haiti
Johanna Mendelson Forman
10 Europe’s Role in Fostering Peace in Central America and Colombia
Markus Schultze-Kraft
11 Political Transition, Social Violence, and Gangs: Cases in Central America and Mexico
José Miguel Cruz, Rafael Fernández de Castro, and Gema Santamaría Balmaceda
12 Why Truth Still Matters: Historical Clarification, Impunity, and Justice in Contemporary Guatemala
Victoria Sanford
Commentary: “Eppur Si Muove”—Truth and Justice in Peru after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Carlos Iván Degregori
13 Conclusion
Cynthia J. Arnson
Contributors
Index
