Latin American politics : and introduction / David Close.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Studying Latin American politics ― 2. Why history matters ― 3. Latin America’s historic power elite: stability and change ― 4. Historic modes of governing: the politics of patrimonialism, violence, and instability ― 5. Political change, political contention, and new political contenders ― 6. Political institutions and the machinery of government ― 7. Democracy and democratization ― 8. Political economy and economic policy in Latin America ― 9. International political economy: the politics of Latin America’s international economic relations ― 10. Latin American international relations ― 11. Latin America in comparative perspective.

Latin American Politics is aimed at Latin American politics courses offered out of political science departments at the second- and third-year levels. Unlike many texts in this area, which tend to take a country-by-country approach, this book takes a thematic approach and covers such topics as Latin America's history, violence, democracy, and political economy. This approach is self-consciously comparative and encourages students to develop stronger comparative analysis skills. Fully updated and revised, this second edition also includes a new chapter on party systems and the media, as well as new chapter-opening and closing vignettes to engage readers and provide more country-specific content.