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).
By world standards, Latin Americans ideologically are slightly to the right. But their attitudes are moving leftward, a trend with potential implications for democratic stability in the region.
Recently reelected premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his "Thais Love Thais" party offer a fusion of populist rhetoric with policies that serve the interests of the Thai business class.
