As the experience of Latin America makes clear, a strong civil society is not necessarily a democratic one. Democratic deficits within civil society jeopardize its ability to perform its proper social functions.
About the Author
Alison Brysk, associate professor of political science and chair of international studies at the University of California, Irvine, is the author of The Politics of Human Rights in Argentina (1994) and From Tribal Village to Global Village: Indian Rights and International Relations in Latin America (2000).
The left-right ideological divide has begun to narrow in Latin America as citizens and leaders increasingly choose a pragmatic approach to politics and embrace the rules of the democratic game.
Although Senegal has often been regarded as a democracy, its regime should more properly have been classified as competitive authoritarian. Will the 2012 election of a new president prove to be a…
