PSCI411 - POLITICAL ECON OF GENDER

After decades of centralized governments and economies, processes of decentralization are taking place all over the world. From a comparative perspective, this course examines those processes in Latin America. We begin by analyzing different theories and explanations about the origins, advantages and disadvantages of constitutional federalism, fiscal federalism, and decentralization. We then focus on the study of federalism and recent decentralization reforms in three of the four Latin American federations: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. In the last part of the course, we turn to the study of decentralization in a unitary country: Colombia. Over the course of the semester, we will discuss topics such as the role that governors played in the recent economic and political crises in Argentina, the evolving power of governors and mayors in Brazil, the importance of subnational elections for democratization processes in Brazil and Mexico, the survival of authoritarian enclaves in Mexico, and issues of accountability and peace prospects in Colombia.