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).
Complaining about parties and politicians is common everywhere, but troubled Peru has devolved into a cautionary tale for what a democracy without established parties and professional politicians can look like.
Can a regime built by and centered around a populist strongman survive that strongman’s death? A natural experiment is now unfolding in Venezuela as a resurgent opposition and a crisis…
