DWA 222 Latin America Political Economy

This course introduces students to the political economy of Latin America. The first section of the course looks at the rise of dependency theory and import substitution industrialization (ISI) as the region's predominant development strategy. We will study the motivations behind ISI, its initial success in terms of economic growth, and the challenges associated with such strategies of development. We will focus on the origins of the 1980's debt crisis, the abolishing of the ISI model, and the subsequent turn to neoliberal development strategies. The course aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of the transition to neoliberalism, the so-called Washington Consensus, and the broader political and economic implications of the reform processes that have unfolded since the early 1980's. We will study the interaction between democratization and economic reform and aim to understand how these simultaneous transitions have affected the policy-making process and the formation of public policy in the region. Latin America is a diverse region, therefore this course will emphasize its economic and political diversity.