As a forum for dialogue among social scientists, public intellectuals, and relevant social actors in Latin America, this project is intended to promote discussion and encourage fresh thinking about the major challenges confronting democracy in the region.

Methodologically, it centers on the formation of working groups that will bring together prominent public intellectuals from the region. Thematically, their analysis and discussions will focus on a series of documents prepared by specialists whose contributions have been solicited by Plataforma Democrática. The final outcome will be synthesized in a document that will be widely disseminated via seminars and conferences and discussed by social and political actors from throughout Latin America.

The documents prepared by our invited specialists will be published in Spanish and Portuguese in a book series titled “The State of Democracy in Latin America.” Abstracts will be available here in digital format.

The State of Democracy in Latin America focus its attention on two topics of central importance to the future of democracy in the region:

Latin American democracy and global geopolitical changes

We live in a new international context characterized by the relative decline of U.S. influence, the rise of new powers (especially China), and the strategic role played by natural resources in Latin America’s integration into world markets. The political dynamics of Latin American countries are not—and indeed have never been—a simple byproduct of the will and interests of foreign powers. Therefore, the international context and its commercial strategies or models of economic integration should be understood as resources that a nation’s social and political actors will appropriate in order to articulate and advance the interests of social groups, ideological agendas, and forms of government.

Working Papers

2010     Geopolitical Dynamics and Democracy in Latin America

2011     Brazil and South America: contrasting perspectives

The media and the challenges of democratic regulation

Media and Democracy Are certain governments justified when they argue that they represent the people, whereas the media represents the economic interests of dominant groups—or do such claims hide other realities? Does the present confrontation merely rehearse a time-worn tendency, or is this a phenomenon whose characteristics, in many ways at least, are new? We contend that the current crisis is a manifestation of profound transformations in the methods of political communication, the business structure of companies, and the practice of journalism. Given these circumstances, we must address the problem of how to regulate this sphere in a way that assures the broadest possible access to an independent media.

Books

» Poder político y medios de comunicación: de la representación política al reality show

Working Papers

  Media and Democracy