Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The 4th Summit of the Latin American countries and the European Union will take place in Vienna. Meanwhile the Summit of Guadalajara in 2004 reflects the principal agreement about multilateralism, social cohesion and the political will of the governments to enhance the regional integration; the Summit of Vienna will probably focus on a coherent strategy towards the US initiative of the ALCA (Área de Libre Comercio de las Americas). In spite of the Global Agreement with the European Union, Mexico is almost completely integrated in NAFTA like almost all Central American and Caribbean countries have the US as their major trade partner. The countries of MERCOSUR, however, focus their economical relations towards the European Union. The experiences of NAFTA have created criticism that a US-dominated free trade area would reduce national sovereignty. Therefore, Latin American countries under the leadership of Brazil are looking forward to establishing better economic and political relations with the EU in order to enhance integration processes in the partially disintegrating continent. This analysis draws the question whether the strategic association might be the principal key for the integration process in Latin America and might also promote a deeper integration between the two regions.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The recent rejection of both incumbent and established nonincumbent parties in many Latin American countries calls into question the application of retrospective voting theories in the region. I show how political institutional arrangements determine whether voters will punish incumbent parties by supporting established nonincumbents or new parties altogether. Many voters evaluate incumbent party performance, as well as the performance of parties holding office just before incumbents came to power. I argue that, if more than one party exposed citizens to hardship, voters will hope to reject both incumbents and any party holding office in recent years. Even so, when institutions reduce the opportunities available to small parties, citizens are less likely to throw their support behind them, leading voters to punish incumbents by voting for established nonincumbents. More permissive institutional contexts, in contrast, encourage citizens to punish old parties by supporting new ones.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, U.S. attention has shifted towards combating terrorism. While the Bush administration was fighting wars in Afghanistan and later Iraq, relations with several Latin American nations deteriorated. This coin

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Over the past decade, China has been reinforcing its diplomatic strategy by providing increased foreign trade and economic cooperation into Latin American countries, particularly those of Taiwan’s allies in the region. China’s such strategic foreign affai

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The judiciary, as guardian of all established laws has a fundamental role in the establishment and preservation or the rule of law and hence on the process of democratization, which it can only honor if free from manipulation by state and other powerful actors. Scholars and politicians have hence claimed for judicial independence as an important safeguard for newly democratizing nations. This paper studies the implications on state accountability of recent judicial reform efforts made by Latin American countries to grant their judicial branches increased independence. The aim of this paper is to further understanding of the extent to which judicial reforms influence the submission of the state to the law and democratic consolidation. It offers a regression analysis of the effects of reforms in thirteen reforming and ten non-reforming countries on horizontal and vertical accountability over a 29-year period (1973-2001) using indicators by the Polity Project. Drawing on its results, this paper argues that despite the still too long and embarrassing list of abuses documented in the literature as impeding the achievement of the rule of law, the introduction of constitutional safeguards for judicial independence has had a positive effect in enhancing state accountability. While not perhaps a sufficient condition for the rule of law, judicial reforms may be a necessary and important one.