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For over thirty years, Latin American Politics and Development has kept instructors and students abreast of current affairs and changes in Latin America. Now in its ninth edition, this definitive text has been updated throughout and features contributions from experts in the field, including twenty new and revised chapters on Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. The fully updated foundational section includes new chapters on political economy and U.S.-Latin American relations and covers the changing context of Latin American politics, the pattern of historical development, political culture, interest groups and political parties, government machinery, the role of the state and public policy, and the struggle for democracy. In addition to detailed country-by-country chapters, Latin American Politics and Development provides a comprehensive regional overview.

Chronicle of a Failure Foretold charts the progress and failure of Colombian President Andrés Pastrana's efforts to bring an end to sixty years of civil war.

An incisive survey of the historical development, society, politics, government, and struggle for democracy in Latin America

Finally, the author looks at the international dimension of Colombian politics, especially its long-standing relationship with the United States and its increasingly important regional ties.

The civil War in Colombia has waxed and waned for sixty years, with shifting goals, programs, and tactics among the contending parties. Bursts of appalling violence are punctuated by uneasy truces, cease-fires, and attempts at reconciliation. Varieties of Marxism, the economics of narco-trafficking, peasant land hunger, poverty, and oppression mix together in a toxic stew that has claimed the lives of uncounted peasants, conscript soldiers, and those who simply got in the way. Kline argues that the first administration of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez marked a decisive break in this seemingly endless cycle. Not only were the levels of homicide and kidnapping dramatically reduced, but the state took the offensive against the insurgents, strengthening the armed forces, which in turn demonstrated clear support for the president's policy. However, Kline believes that these changes although dramatic, are not necessarily permanent, and discusses what challenges must be overcome for the permanent reduction of organized violence in this war-torn nation. Book jacket.

Chronicles the peace process negotiations between Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia In Between the Sword and the Wall: The Santos Peace Negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Harvey Kline, a noted expert on contemporary Colombian politics, brings to a close his multivolume chronicle of the incessant violence that has devastated Colombia’s population, politics, and military for decades. This, his newest work on the subject, recounts and analyzes the negotiations between Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which ended with a peace agreement in 2016. The FARC insurgency began in 1964, and every Colombian president after 1980 unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a peace agreement with the group. Kline analyzes how the Santos administration was ultimately able to negotiate peace with the FARC. The agreement failed to receive the approval of the Colombian people in an October 2016 plebiscite, but a renegotiated version was later approved by the congress in the same year. Afterward, more than 7,000 rebels turned over their weapons to the UN mission in Colombia. The former combatants were then to be judged by a special court empowered to punish but not imprison those who had violated human rights. Throughout the book, Kline emphasizes the dual nature of the Santos negotiations, first with the FARC and second with the democratic opposition to the agreement led by former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Kline provides readers with a well-researched analysis based on a variety of resources, including media articles and primary documents from the government, international organizations, and the FARC. He also conducted extensive interviews with twenty-eight government officials and Colombian experts from all ideological persuasions.

This volume documents the efforts of two Colombian presidents to reduce political violence and bring more stable governance to their country. Both Virgilio Barco Vargas (1986-90) and Cesar Gaviria Trujillo (1990-1994) tried to end a variety of armed disturbances from various quarters.

Although Colombia is the third-largest country in Latin America, it has been little known until recent years and does not fit many of the patterns common to other countries in the region. Competition between political parties, for example, has always been more important than class conflict; there is no tradition of military dictatorship; and corporatist structures are weak. Over the past decade, however, Colombia has gained notoriety, principally as the supplier of 80 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States. The second edition of this comprehensive country profile begins with a discussion of the blend of Andean and Caribbean characteristics that define Colombia, particularly in its geography, demography, and social structure. The author then presents a detailed political history that extends from before the arrival of the Spanish, including a portrait of early Amerindian populations, and continues through the turbulence of guerrilla, drug, and paramilitary violence in the 1980s and constitutional reforms of the 1990s. Harvey Kline argues that Colombia is now conscientiously attempting to alter historical patterns that have led it to play a key role in the international drug trade and to lead the world in the rate of homicides. A chapter on the economy offers a historical analysis of its evolution and examines economic and trade policies of recent presidents. Finally, the author looks at the international dimension of Colombian politics, especially its long-standing relationship with the United States and its increasingly important regional ties.

Colombia is the fourth largest country in South America and one of the continent's most populous nations. It has substantial oil reserves and is a major producer of gold, silver, emeralds, platinum, and coal, along with a significant number of natural resources. Colombia has also been ravaged by a decades-long violent conflict involving outlawed armed groups, drug cartels, and gross violations of human rights. Recently the country has made some progress towards improving security, and President Santos has pledged to continue to improve security by passing laws to strengthen the judicial system; a reform of the manner of distributing royalties paid by mining and petroleum companies; and a tougher law against corruption. The Historical Dictionary of Colombia covers the history of Colombia through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and a bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1,000 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Colombia.

Although Colombia is the third-largest country in Latin America, it has been little known until recent years and does not fit many of the patterns common to other countries in the region. Competition between political parties, for example, has always been more important than class conflict; there is no tradition of military dictatorship; and corporatist structures are weak. Over the past decade, however, Colombia has gained notoriety, principally as the supplier of 80 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States. The second edition of this comprehensive country profile begins with a discussion of the blend of Andean and Caribbean characteristics that define Colombia, particularly in its geography, demography, and social structure. The author then presents a detailed political history that extends from before the arrival of the Spanish, including a portrait of early Amerindian populations, and continues through the turbulence of guerrilla, drug, and paramilitary violence in the 1980s and constitutional reforms of the 1990s. Harvey Kline argues that Colombia is now conscientiously attempting to alter historical patterns that have led it to play a key role in the international drug trade and to lead the world in the rate of homicides. A chapter on the economy offers a historical analysis of its evolution and examines economic and trade policies of recent presidents. Finally, the author looks at the international dimension of Colombian politics, especially its long-standing relationship with the United States and its increasingly important regional ties.