Democratizing Civil Society in Latin America

Issue Date July 2000
Volume 11
Issue 3
Page Numbers 151-165
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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).

View all work by Alison Brysk

Further Reading

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Exchange: Getting Costa Rica Right

The country’s recent political travails are due not to collusion between the two major parties but to the increasing difficulty of reaching interparty agreements.

Volume 27, Issue 2

Latin America’s New Turbulence: Trouble in the “Northern Triangle”

Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are weighed down by high crime, sluggish economies, and heavy reliance on remittances. And when significant political change has taken place, it has resulted in…

Volume 25, Issue 3

The Maidan and Beyond: Civil Society and Democratization

Despite the spirit of participation that characterized the Maidan, organized civil society groups were not a key factor.