Latin American Politics - An online community for scholars of Latin American political institutions

An online community for scholars of Latin American political institutions

About This Site

This is the online social network for members of LASA's Political Institutions Section (LAPIS). The Political Institutions Section is dedicated to the study of the origins and effects of political parties, electoral systems, presidents, judiciaries, legislatures, the military and bureaucracies. We seek to understand how political actors – voters, elected officials, and bureaucrats – shape and are subsequently constrained by these democratic institutions. The Section seeks to develop links so that those working on similar issues can critique each other's work and collaborate on common projects. These links will also help us locate information sources and build databases.

LAPIS Officers

Chair
Todd Eisenstadt, American University
Secretary-Treasurer
Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, University of Pittsburgh
Council Members
Santiago Basabe, CIPEC
Felipe Botero, Universidad de los Andes
Miguel Centellas, University of Mississippi
Kirk Hawkins, Brigham Young University

Links

Latin American Studies Association (LASA)
Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA)
North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)

Forum

LASA 2010 LAPIS panel proposals 6 Replies

Started by Miguel Centellas. Last reply by Miguel Centellas Sep 16.

Suggestions

Started by Miguel Centellas Jun 6.

Election Data Resources

Started by Miguel Centellas Jun 6.

Blog Posts

PBS documentary on Argentina's disappeared

A recent film about Argentina's disappeared during the military dictatorship will air on PBS on September 21. Our Disappeared follows director Juan Mandelbaum's personal investigation into the fates of friends and loved ones who were among those tortured, killed, and "disappeared" by the Argentine military during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. This might be something worthwhile for class use, if you're looking for something on Argentina's "dirty war" and its aftermath. The film also has a we… Continue

Posted by Miguel Centellas on September 15, 2009 at 11:24am

LAPIS "call for papers" for LASA 2010 panels (amended 7/23)

After some feedback from LAPIS members, and discussion within the executive committee, we're hoping to put together the following LAPIS panels for LASA 2010:

• Presidentialism in Latin America Today: Still in Crisis?
• Latin American Legislatures in a Time of Change
• Latin American Judiciaries

The first panel offers a chance for a reflection on the literature on the "perils of presidentialism" initiated in the 1990s, but looking at contemporary presidents following the re… Continue

Posted by Miguel Centellas on July 23, 2009 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

New issue of JPLA (2/2009)

The new Journal of Politics in Latin America (JPLA) just published its second issue.

JPLA's second issue includes the following: "Evade, Corrupt, or Confront? Organized Crime and the State in Brazil and Mexico" by John Bailey and Matthew M. Taylor; "Failed Presidencies: Identifying and Explaining a South American Anomaly" by Kathryn Hochstetler and Margaret E. Edwards; "Institutional Reform and Rights Revolutions in Latin Am… Continue

Posted by Miguel Centellas on July 17, 2009 at 2:30pm

LASA 2010 LAPIS panel proposals

Please take a look at the LASA 2010 LAPIS panel proposals discussion on this site. We are trying to coordinate individual paper proposals into full panel proposals, which will have a higher acceptance rate. Even if you only have an idea for a paper, please post that, along with a brief topic tag. Hopefully, we can organically put together panels/roundtables.

Posted by Miguel Centellas on June 30, 2009 at 1:27pm

JPLA's inaugural issue (1/2009)

We have (as a section) in the past discussed the need for an institutions-focused journal for Latin America. The Journal of Politics in Latin America (JPLA), recently launched by Hamburg's GIGA-ILAS is such a journal. I encourage all of you to submit articles, research notes, or review articles to what promises to be an interesting and useful new journal. The se… Continue

Posted by Miguel Centellas on June 12, 2009 at 11:00am