The present dissertation reconstructs the notion of legitimacy in Ecuador between 1996 and 2007 in order to re-think our measurements and understanding of Latin American democracies. Empirically, the analysis is centered on the country`s puzzling tendency to survive institutional volatility, bad economic performance and social unrest, while the theoretical section underlines the importance of the vertical and horizontal participatory components of legitimacy. After exploring different plausible explanations of Ecuador`s puzzling mixture of political turmoil and regime endurance, this dissertation concludes that legitimacy helped democracy to endure in Ecuador. The main conclusion is that the horizontal components of political participation and the enactment of democratic values by social movements as well as new political parties played a key role in the survival of democracy. The dissertation contributes to the democratization literature by encompassing the normative elements of democracy, while at the same time contributes to democratic theory by pushing further the boundaries of a notion and a case that requires further attention. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This thesis examines the paradox of the Chile-Peru border, and specifically the Chilean border city of Arica, between 1925 and 2015. Through an eclectic mixed method ‘collage’, primarily relying on archival research and extended interviews, the richness of the lived experience of the border comes to the fore. Arica has been a space of violence since it was appropriated from Peru by Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) and I am interested in how this violence has lingered and manifested itself in various ways since Arica officially became Chilean territory in the 1920s. This violence often stems from a performance of Chilean machismo at the border. Arica is a space of contradiction. A space of extreme nationalism but also of rejection of the Chilean state, of being central to the Chilean nation but also of being peripheral and abandoned. Over five ‘border moments’ over ninety years Arica oscillates between centrality and marginality dependent on threats to Chilean sovereignty at the border. Through a chronological and multi-disciplinary arc the history of violence in Arica can be better understood. The thesis begins in 1925 when the United States became involved in the dispute over the Chile-Peru border that hadn’t been settled since the War of the Pacific. Violence permeated the region and made an attempted plebiscite impossible and although the border was demarcated through other means in 1929, Arica soon became ignored by the Chilean state. A state of abandonment remained until the 1950s when economic initiatives enacted at the regional level succeeded in raising the prospects and spirits of Arica, purging the area of violence, until the 1970s when General Pinochet’s new economic plan reversed Arica’s progress. Arica instead became a military space in this decade as tensions arose between Pinochet and Peruvian dictator General Velasco and international violence returned. This international level is then contrasted with violence at the corporeal level in Arica in the 1980s when HIV/AIDS and abortion both became increasingly pertinent at the border. The thesis closes with how violence remains present in Arica today, particularly as seen through the 2014 maritime border dispute.

In the twenty first century the Pink Tide arrived in Latin America with left wing governments who claimed to be socialists. Research has shown that there were two types of socialism in the region, one globalized and the other anti-globalization. The latter better portrayed as socialists' populists are the focus of this work. This study aims to find how the actions taken by the socialist populist governments disregarded democracy and shows how because on this; the security of the nations has deteriorated. Grounded on existing work of the current left wing in the region, the question is: How have the socialist-populist regimes who were situated in governments of Latin American countries, during the beginning of the twenty first century, contributed in the increased deterioration of human security of their nations and region during their term and post term years? Based on the review of the concentration of power, nationalization policies and media activism actions that Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua have imposed I show the deterioration of Human Security inside each case. The results indicate that because of the actions taken against democracy, the human security has decreased posing a threat in each country and the region.

Yes / Informal prisoner governance in Latin American penal institutions raises a number of dilemmas for policy. The responses must encompass decarceration and diversion policies, and an approach to prison security that emphasises co-production and co-governance rather than coercive control.

No description available.

Since the introduction of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States has maintained a sphere of influence in Latin America. This hegemony has yielded beneficial results, such as the Panama Canal, and at times, has caused more harm than good. The later result has been the dominant outcome beginning with 1954 and the Central Intelligence Agency's foray into Guatemala. U.S. foreign policy has enabled or sanctioned actions resulting in human rights abuses. This can be easily viewed through the Reagan Administration's re-ignition of Cold War politics based on realist international relations theory This particular foreign policy blueprint is based on one geo-political thought: Communist Rollback. Due to this, other concerns, such as human rights, were relegated to a lesser priority. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the extent to which U.S. foreign policy undermined human rights in Central America during the decade of the Reagan Administration. By understanding the effects of Reagan's singular focus, this thesis seeks to bring clarity to the deficiencies of current or potentially future foreign policy models. To understand the impact of U.S. foreign policy this thesis will explore three key case countries: Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. These crossroads of policy between the Reagan Administration and their Central American counterparts will dictate decisions made publicly and secretly that will be the impetus of human rights abuses that are still being uncovered thirty years later. What we will discover is that, ultimately, containment policy failed to slow socialism as an alternative to capitalism and democracy in some of these states at the expense of the human rights of native citizens. / Master of Arts / This study was conducted with the purpose of evaluating the effects of U.S. Foreign Policy upon human rights in Central America during the 1980s. The study first reviews both the Carter and Reagan Administrations' formulation of foreign policy in regard to Central America and Communist expansion. The methodology used to explore this topic is a historical review of events in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The importance of such a study is to ascertain whether a single-issue foreign policy focus can negatively impact the rights of ordinary citizens. By understanding how foreign policy is created and executed in this manner can bring accountability and transparency for the consequences that follow such a strategy.

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International lawyers are increasingly interested in studying NGOs ("NGOs") and their influence on state behavior, but few have studied the impact that domestic NGOs can have on transforming and generating international norms. This paper explores the links between Latin American NGOs and their aim of changing international norms into more effective instruments against systematic violations of human rights by states. I will aim to articulate the stages of the processes that NGOs go through to change state behavior. / I decided to write about NGOs and changes to human rights norms because I have dedicated most of my life to trying to eliminate human rights violations in Latin America. To the detractors that insist that such attempts are futile, I would respond that every effort one can contribute to the human rights movement is one step towards the goal of transforming beliefs and principles into real changes to state practices.

Thesis (Ph. D. in sociology)--Washington State University, May 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2010. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-42). Also available on the World Wide Web.