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The obstacles that hinder democracy in Latin America are the topics of interest of this research. Loopholes within Latin American democratic systems of governance are a cause for concern, but also intrigue. In this research the specific loopholes and strengths of democracies in Latin America will be spotted and explained. More specifically, this research features a series quantitative method to help explain and evaluate the characteristics of strong democracies in Latin America as well as the characteristics of weak democracies in Latin America. A series of regression models show a causal relationship between rule of law and the overall democratic success of Latin American countries within the region. Therefore, it can be said that countries that hold robust judiciary systems are not more likely to reach and continue democratic success.

Most research that has examined the variation in homicide levels has examined their correlation with socioeconomic structural variables. In Latin America however, economic and social development has occurred, but high homicide levels remain, suggesting the involvement of other influencing factors. Recent research has established causal relationships between the role of state institutions and the numbers of homicides. I hypothesize that the perception of corruption may contribute in explaining the variation in homicide levels, and in particular in the Latin America region, because of grievance motivated violence. This hypothesis is tested through a quantitative method that includes more specifically linear regression analysis. My results show that there is no clear relationship between the perception of corruption and homicides on the global level. Nevertheless, the results show that the perception of corruption of the military influences homicides which highlights the importance of supporting the military in improving for example their transparency and accountability so that reductions in homicide can be achieved. The results in Latin America show that there is a negative strong relationship, suggesting that the lower the perception of corruption is, the higher the amount of homicides. This could be a result due to a lot of different reasons that get analyzed in this paper. More research, particularly in Latin America, is needed before drawing conclusions.

This thesis investigates conservative social movements’ discursive strategies and the ways in which discourse is used depending on a constructed threat. This is done through a discourse analysis on online published material by pro-life groups in Latin America, using the case of abortion. The research question is “How does the construction of threats influence discursive adaptation among pro-life actors in Latin America?” It is divided into sub-questions, asking (a) how pro-life actors perceive and construct threats, and (b) how do pro-life activists in Latin America use religious argumentation, pro-women discourse, and law and legal-based arguments respectively, to oppose a decriminalization of abortion? The study finds that arguments centered on rights and the national constitutions dominate. The most common threats are the real or hypothetical legalization of abortion, its increased access or increased normalization, as well as the threat of the international community and gender ideology, and what I refer to above as the hypothetical threat, in which the case of abortion serves as a gateway. The central findings are that the unit or phenomenon perceived as threatened is often the same as what constitutes a node of familiarity, i.e., appeals to individuals based on an experience shared by a community, and that the discourse used in response often reflects that of the constructed threat itself. The thesis illustrates the many ways that the pro-life movements use a combination of discourse based on religious values, gender, and rights to construct arguments, and thereby, the adaptability and creativity displayed by the organization.

Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) is a rare, autoimmune, neurodegenerative disease selectively affecting the optic nerves and spinal cord. Relapsing NMO is nine times more prevalent in women than in men and approximately one-quarter of NMO patients have symptoms of another autoimmune disorder (National Institute of Health, 2019). NMO has not been linked to any genetic mutations and the cause of the disorder is unknown beyond the general understanding that the body produces anti-aquaporin-4 antibodies (AQP4) which mistakenly attack cells in the nervous system. NMO affects roughly one percent of that of Multiple Sclerosis (4000-8000 patients total) in the United States, but prevalence rates are abnormally high in a handful of regions around the world, particularly among Latin America, where rates can reach up to 5/100,000 individuals. The results of this study predict that there is a connection between African genetics and NMO, but further studies will need to be conducted in more Latin America nations and other regions to determine prevalence rates as well as genetic analysis of affected individuals.

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