New Books
- Chaos and Violence: What Globalization, Failed States, and Terrorism Mean for U.S. Foreign Policy
Renowned for his compassionate and balanced thinking on international affairs, Hoffmann reflects here on the proper place of the United States in the world. From the September 11th attacks to the war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq, Hoffman studies the global events confronted—and shaped—by United States foreign policy makers.
A true global citizen, Hoffmann offers an analysis that is uniquely informed by his place as a public intellectual with one foot in Europe, the other in America. In this brilliant collection of essays, many previously unpublished, he considers the ethics of intervention, the morality of human rights, how to repair our relationship with Europe, and the pitfalls of American unilateralism.
(Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., November 2006.)
Stanley Hoffmann is a member of the Executive Committee and a faculty associate of the Weatherhead Center. He is the Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser University Professor at Harvard University.
- Informal Institutions and Democracy: Lessons from Latin America
This volume analyzes the function of informal institutions in Latin America and how they support or weaken democratic governance. Drawing from a wide range of examples—including the Mexican dedazo, clientelism in Brazil, legislative “ghost coalitions” in Ecuador, and elite power-sharing in Chile—the contributors examine how informal rules shape the performance of state and democratic institutions, offering fresh and timely insights into contemporary problems of governability, “unrule of law,” and the absence of effective representation, participation, and accountability in Latin America. The editors present this analysis within a fourfold conceptual framework: complementary institutions, which fill gaps in formal rules or enhance their efficacy; accommodative informal institutions, which blunt the effects of dysfunctional formal institutions; competing informal institutions, which directly subvert the formal rules; and substitutive informal institutions, which replace ineffective formal institutions.
(The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.)
Gretchen Helmke, Harvard Academy Scholar, 2002–03, 2004–05, is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Rochester. Steven Levitsky, faculty associate of the Weatherhead Center, is a John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University.
- The Construction of Democracy: Lessons from Practice and Research
How should democracies balance the hopes and constraints of their societies with the architecture of their constitutions and institutions to secure freedom, promote citizenship, and foster prosperity? In The Construction of Democracy, leading scholars from seven different countries—and key decision makers from eight—come together to analyze the dimensions of democratic design and draw not only practical but feasible recommendations. Here citizens, politicians, and government officials offer valuable insight into the craft of politics with real examples of success and failures from some of the leading policy makers of our time—including the president of Portugal, former presidents of Brazil and Colombia, and a former prime minister of India. In a rare instance where the expertise of practical-minded scholars is melded with the experience of thoughtful policy makers, this volume offers much-needed insight to others seeking sensible and effective solutions.
(The Johns Hopkins University Press, May 2007.)
Jorge I. Domínguez is a member of the Executive Committee and a faculty associate of the Weatherhead Center. He is Antonio Madero Professor of Mexican and Latin American Politics and Economics, Department of Government, and Vice Provost for International Affairs, Harvard University.