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).
Decentralization, heralded as a means of increasing state efficiency and improving representation, has fragmented Latin America’s already weak party systems
Even before Argentina’s landmark gay-marriage law was passed in July 2010, a gay-rights revolution was well underway across Latin America. But do gay rights by law equal acceptance of gays…
