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Mandates and Democracies: Neoliberalism by Surprise in Latin America. By Susan C. Stokes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 226p. $55.00 cloth, $20.00 paper

Public Support for Market Reforms in New Democracies. Edited by Susan C. Stokes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 232p. $60.00 cloth, $22.00 paper.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2004

Kurt Weyland
Affiliation:
University of Texas at Austin

Extract

The wave of market reforms that swept across the world during the last two decades stunned most observers. It came as a particular surprise that even fragile democracies would implement painful neoliberal programs. Why did presidents enact drastic, risky measures that could easily trigger opposition and protest, thus endangering their political survival? How did the people respond to this bitter medicine? And how did democracy fare? Did its quality suffer because presidents autocratically imposed unpopular reforms? Or did political leaders manage to obtain popular support for their neoliberal programs through democratic mechanisms?

Type
Book Reviews
Copyright
2003 by the American Political Science Association

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