Politics of Central America and the Caribbean

This guide will introduce you to some key library resources and websites useful for research on Central American politics and policy analysis. This is just a starting place, so don't limit yourself to the tools on this course guide!

NOT PUBLISHED

Subject:

Public and International Affairs

Course number:

PLS 332

Instructor:

Horan, Jennifer

Databases

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Provides citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, law, public administration / policy, and public and international affairs.

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Political Science Database

Covers the literature of political science and international relations, including such topics as comparative politics, political economy, international development, environmental policy, and hundreds of related topics. This database provides access to hundreds of leading political science and international relations journals, providing full-text of many core titles indexed in Worldwide Political Science Abstracts.

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Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS)

The Public Affairs Information Services database provides information on business, public and international affairs, public and social policies and international relations. PAIS includes publications from over 120 countries throughout the world.

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JSTOR

Archive of selected scholarly journals in anthropology, art, art history, communication studies, criminology, ecology, economics, education, English, film studies, foreign languages and literatures, geography, geology, history, mathematics, music, philosophy, political science, public and international affairs, religion, social work, sociology, statistics, theatre, and other humanities and social sciences.

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eHRAF World Cultures

Provides a cross-cultural database of information on all aspects of cultural and social life, organized into cultures and ethnic groups.

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Search the Library Catalog

Using the Library Catalog

Search your country as a SUBJECT to view a hierarchical list of subheadings (e.g. Argentina -- Politics and government). If you click on that subject, you will see a list of books and library materials on that topic.

A keyword search of your country with the word "videorecording" will retrieve a list of videos.

Starting Points

Background Notes

International relation reports from the U.S. Department of State.

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World FactBook

Database of country profiles produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

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Selected Books and Journals

Latinos in the New Millennium: An Almanac of Opinion, Behavior, and Policy Preferences

Latinos in the New Millennium is the most current and comprehensive profile of Latinos in the United States: looking at their social characteristics, group relations, policy positions and political orientations. The authors draw on information from the 2006 Latino National Survey (LNS), the largest and most detailed source of data on Hispanics in America. This book provides essential knowledge about Latinos, contextualizing research data by structuring discussion around many dimensions of Latino political life in the United States.

The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Latin America

The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Latin America explores why indigenous movements have recently won elections for the first time in the history of the region. Raúl L. Madrid argues that some indigenous parties have won by using inclusive populist appeals to reach out to whites and mestizos. Indigenous parties have managed to win support across ethnic lines because the long history of racial mixing in Latin America blurred ethnic boundaries and reduced ethnic polarization.

Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism

In Left Behind, Sebastian Edwards explains why the nations of Latin America have failed to share in the fruits of globalization and forcefully highlights the dangers of the recent turn to economic populism in the region.

Globalization and Austerity Politics in Latin America

For developing countries, the dramatic internationalization of financial markets over the last two decades deepens tensions between politics and markets. Notwithstanding the rise of left-leaning governments in regions like Latin America, macroeconomic policies often have a neoliberal appearance. When is austerity imposed externally and when is it a domestic political choice? By combining statistical tests with extensive field research across Latin America, this book examines the effect of financial globalization on economic policymaking.

Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective

Democracy in Latin America examines the processes of democratization in Latin America over the past twenty years. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the issues inherent in the move toward democracy--including elections, culture, representation, poverty, and criminality. Organized thematically, with a unique historical perspective, the book focuses on six paradigmatic case studies in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Latinnews Daily

Political Handbook of the World

Websites

World Bank Data

provides reliable data about countries of the world. You can search by country, topic, or indicator.

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Includes individual country profiles.

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Official website for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, part of the UN. Resource provides news updates, statistics, publications, and other information related to the region.

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