Latin America in the Age of Globalization

Description

This course intends to give the student a view of contemporary Latin America, balancing a perspective between its traditional political and social paradigms as well as proposing a set of approaches to the concept of Globalization. This will be carried out by mixing both the concept of mestizo culture derived from its joint Spanish and local cultural origin as well as the contemporary perspectives and views of the phenomenon of Globalization.

The Course will start proposing a short perspective about Latin-American contemporary history and particularly relating to its ideological paradigms of the Cold War period. Then, it will revise the concepts and state of the art related to the debate about Globalization as a cultural phenomenon. Finally, it will go into the different approaches and processes that have tainted the relation between Latin America and Globalization since the late 1980s and the end of the Cold War, providing special attention to the proactive approaches such as those espoused by Chile, Mexico and Peru, and the negative or pessimistic ones related to the Boliviarian and Indigenist approaches as well as the pervivence of the Cuban Revolutionary model and its impact in the antiglobal regional perspectives.

Aims

The course intends to show which concepts, ideas and beliefs are behind some Latin American political projects in conflict.

1. The first objective to be achieved by the students is to understand globalization, some of the possible ideological approaches and how they manifest themselves in Latin America.

2. Secondly, the student must be able to value and judge them critically.

To achieve our objectives, the course is divided into three units:

1. The first one, which has a theoretical approach for understanding the basic concepts and the definition of globalization.

2. The second one, which is rather practical, because the historical development of some Latin American processes must be compared.

3. Finally, the third part: Conclusions

Methodology

The course contemplates both the use of the traditional class as a ways to provide the background information to the subject in coordination with specific reading of bibliography, to be complemented by source analysis and debate related to creating different perspectives about a subject which is far from consolidated on a specific consensus.

Good decision making is not possible without knowledge and information and it is a fundamental part of the political and economic life.

If statesmen, businessmen and consultants want to be good decision makers, they must learn concepts and adequate tools for understanding the world. The best way to reach this is combining theoretical and practical views to analyze situations.

The class will be conducted as a workshop and therefore requires the active participation of the students. This way, the students will have to read different thematic books, articles and other texts which will be discussed critically and creatively during the classes. One part of the course will be led by the students, who will prepare presentations.

Schedule of Topics

Basic Concepts for Analyzing Globalization (12 modules) Part 1

• Review of some Basic Concepts: Politics, Power, Relationship between Politics and Power, Legitimacy, Legitimacy and Power, Authority, Economy, Economic Policy, Diplomacy, Security and Defence, International System, International Relations, International Players, Power Factors, Scale of Power.
• A world of Ideas

- Definition of Ideas.

- Definition of Ideology.

- Karl Marx?s definition of Ideology.

- Terry Eagleton list of definitions of Ideology.

- Ideas and Human Behaviour.

- The Cold War.

- The new players in today?s international system.

- Some of the new conflicts in today?s international system.

• What is Globalization? Definition, Context.

Activities

• Case Study Nr. 1: Diplomatic Crisis between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela in 2008.

- Analysis in class of the country profile of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

• Analysis in class of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ? People?s Army (Documentary: Past, Present and Future of the FARC- Case Study Nr. 1: Diplomatic Crisis between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela in 2008.

- Analysis in class of the country profile of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

- Analysis in class of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ? People?s Army (Documentary: Past, Present and Future of the FARC).

• Case Study Nr. 3: The Fall of the Berlin Wall.

- Movie: Goodbye Lenin.

- Analysis in class of the change of paradigms, their impact in human believes, and the acceleration of globalization.

- Essay Nr. 3.

Ideas and Projects in Conflict in Latin America (20 modules) Part 2.

1. Latin America in the Age of Globalization: ideas and projects in conflict.

- Context: definition of globalization.

- Indicators of globalization.

- Analysis of those indicators in some countries in Latin America.

- Change of paradigms.

- A person´s predisposition to change.

- The impact of politics and economy.

- Regional Context.

- Democracy as a concept.

- Facts about Democracy.

- Democracy in Latin America.

- Electoral Democracy.

- Direct or ?participative? Democracy.

- Institutional Democracy.

- Governance.

- Internal Problems, Regional Challenge?

- Different Perceptions in Conflict?

- Open Societies and Close Societies of Karl Popper.

2. What future holds for Latin America?

- Case of Mexico and Central America.

- Case of Venezuela.

- Case of Ecuador.

- Case of Bolivia.

- Case of Perú.

- Case of Brazil.

- Case of Argentina.

- Case of Chile.

- Two visions.

- Two main ideologies in Latin America.

- Integration or Fragmentation?

- Conclusions of the students.

Activities

1. Presentation Nr. 1:

- Globalization as a phenomenon that can bring development to some countries but also can stall other countries that are underdevelopment (taking the example of countries in Latin America).

2. Essay Nr. 4: Regional Challenges.

3. Presentation Nr. 2: Ideas in conflict and integration in Latin America.

4. Final Project: Analysis of Globalization in Latin America through a specific example.

Evaluation

Grading for the course will be based on the following criteria:

- Tests, essays, reading and participation (40%)

- Presentations (25%)

- Final Project: essay + presentation (35%)

- The student will approve (s) with note 4.0 and must have at least a 75% attendance.

- The University Code will be strictly followed. In other words the students must do their own work. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Bibliography

• Allard Neuman, R. (2009). La Globalización por Dentro: Estado-Nación y los actores transnacionales. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Catalonia.
• Benavente Urbina, A., & Cirino, J. A. (2005). La democracia defraudada: Populismo revolucionario en America Latina. Buenos Aires: Grito Sagrado Editorial.
• Casas, J. C. (1991). Nuevos Políticos y Nuevas Políticas en América Latina. BuenosAires: Atlántida.
• Dalh, R. (1998). On Democracy. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
• Friedman, T. (1999). The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization. New York: Anchor Books.
• Friedman, T. (2005). The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Galeano, E. (1984). Las Venas Abiertas de América Latina. Buenos Aires: Catalogos.
• Henriquez Cardoso, F. y Foxley, A. (2009). A medio camino: Nuevos desafios de la Democracia y del Desarrollo de America Latina. Santiago de Chile: Uqbar Editores.
• Huntington, S. (1991). The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Lagos, R. (2008). América Latina ¿Integración o Fragmentación? Buenos Aires: Edhasa.
• MacClelland, J. (1996). A History of Western Political Thought. London: Routledge.
• Schumpeter, J. (1943). Capitalism, Socialism & Democracy. London and New York: Routledge.
• Vargas Llosa, Á., Montaner, C. A. y Apuleyo Mendoza, P. (2007). El regreso de Idiota Latinoamericano. Buenos Aires: La Tercera DEBATE.
• Watson, P. (2006). Ideas: Historia Intelectual de la Humanidad. Barcelona: Crítica.