Latin America in the 1980s was marked by the transition to democracy and a turn toward economic orthodoxy.  Unsettling Statecraft analyzes this transition in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, focusing on the political dynamics underlying change and the many disturbing tendencies at work as these countries shed military authoritarianism for civilian rule.

Conaghan and Malloy draw on insights from the political economy literature, viewing policy making as a “historically conditioned” process, and they conclude that the disturbing tendencies their research reveals are not due to regional pathology but are part of the more general experience of postmodern democracy.

Catherine M. Conaghan is professor of political science at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

James M. Malloy is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pittsburgh.