Since the turn of the twenty-first century, a number of Latin American countries have undergone a marked shift to the left in their politics. With this, a number of Latin American countries have been pursuing economic policies that give a greater role for the state in economic affairs. Hugo Chavez has promised to build "twenty-first century socialism" in Venezuela, while Bolivia's Evo Morales often attacks the "neoliberalism" that previously guided economic reform in that country. This thesis investigates these economic institutional changes through a discursive institutionalist perspective, focusing on two Latin American countries: Bolivia and Peru. The goal is to analyze the role discourse and ideas played in impacting economic institutional change, or the lack thereof, in these two countries. This analysis suggests that institutional change in Bolivia can be explained by the skill political figures such as Evo Morales had in linking certain economic policies to notions of Bolivian sovereignty and a defense of natural resources. However, in Peru, discursive limitations presented barriers to a shift towards greater state intervention. By emphasizing the impact of discourse and ideas, this thesis aims to provide a novel theoretical interpretation of these events transpiring in Latin America.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:honorstheses1990-2015-2314 |
| Date | 01 May 2012 |
| Creators | Whittingham, Ryan |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | HIM 1990-2015 |
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