New release: 21st Century Democracy Promotion in the Americas. By Jorge Heine and Brigitte Weiffen
16. December 2014
Standing up for the Polity.
London/New York: Routledge 2015
Reference
This volume examines the promotion and defense of democracy in the Americas. Taking the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IADC) of 2001 as a baseline, it charts the evolution of the issue over the past decade. Although it considers historical antecedents, the main focus of the book is on key instances of promotion and defense of democracy in the Western hemisphere since the adoption of the IADC. It analyzes democratic norms, norm enforcement mechanisms and how they work in practice.
Special attention is paid to the 2009 Honduras coup, the issues raised by it and the debates that surrounded it, as this was the first instance in which a member state was suspended in accordance with the IADC.
Three central themes guide the analysis: the nature of challenges to democracy in Latin America; the role of regional organizations as democracy promoters; and the transformation of inter-American relations. (publisher)
Prof. Jorge Heine is Professor of Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada. As of July 2014, he is Canadian ambassador to the People's Repulic of China. In 2012, he held several lectures for the MA Program International Administration and Conflict Management IACM at University of Konstanz.
Dr. Brigitte Weiffen is a visiting professor at the Institute of International Relations at the University of São Paulo. Between 2008 und 2014 she was a lecturer in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz and a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study Konstanz (2011–2012).