Dinorah Azpuru

From Peace to Democratization:Lessons from Central America

In 1999, at a seminar on peacemaking and preventive diplomacy sponsored by the UN Institute for Training and Research, a participant identified two types of peace: the ‘no more shooting type’, and the ‘no need for more shooting type’.2 The remark captured an essential distinction governing the resolution of conflicts, between ensuring the minimal conditions for peace – ending the fighting between armed factions or between insurgents and the state – and building peace over the long term, by establishing stable polities that process and deal with conflict without recourse to violence. This latter effort involves an attempt to address at least some of the conditions that led to conflict in the first place.3

Guatemala 2007: un año de contrastes para la democracia

2007 was a year of contrasts for Guatemalan democracy; there were positive aspects but also serious problems. The political process in 2007 pivoted around th...

Guatemala 2006: el aniversario de la democracia y la paz

Resumen es: En el ano 2006 Guatemala llego a dos importantes aniversarios: el vigesimo aniversario del proceso de democratizacion, asi como el decimo aniversario de...

La ciencia política en Guatemala: el reto de la consolidación como disciplina independiente

Resumen La ciencia politica surgio en Guatemala a finales de los anos 60 y durante mas de una decada, tuvo que desarrollarse con las limitaciones impuestas por los regimenes autoritarios de turno. No obstante, desde su surgimiento las escuelas de ciencia politica promovieron activamente la democratizacion del pais. Al iniciarse el proceso democratizador a mediados de los 80, se abrio el espectro de los temas de estudio e investigacion. Algo similar ocurrio con el proceso de paz en los anos 90. A lo largo de tres decadas la disciplina ha contribuido en forma importante a la construccion de la democracia y la paz en Guatemala. Como disciplina, sin embargo, se ha visto limitada por los fuertes vinculos que ha mantenido con otras ciencias sociales y con el derecho. Durante 35 anos los centros academicos que dan formacion en ciencia politica han enfrentado disyuntivas en cuanto al tipo de programas que deben ofrecerse a los estudiantes (grados tecnicos, licenciatura o maestria), el perfil de los profesionales que egresan de los mismos vis-a-vis el mercado laboral y el enfasis en el estudio de la problematica guatemalteca vis-a-vis una perspectiva mas global.

Perceptions of Democracy in Guatemala: An Ethnic Divide?

Abstract As democracy spreads around the world, new challenges and questions arise as to how liberal democracy fits in societies where large segments of the population do not share Western values and lifestyles. This article explores whether or not democratic values and political behaviour vary among the two major ethnic groups existing in Guatemala, the Western-oriented Ladino population and the indigenous Maya population. Using a political science framework of analysis and survey data, the article examines individual-level differences with respect to the support for democracy, the prevalence of authoritarian orientations, and political participation. Multivariate statistical models show that there are minor differences between the two ethnic groups and that other variables account for the variation among the population, particularly gender, education, the perception of corruption in government, and physical insecurity. In brief, the results show that there does not seem to be an ethnic divide in Guatemala with regards to measures commonly used in academic surveys around the world to assess democratic culture.

Does gender make a difference? The gender gap in Latin American politics

This chapter offers a quantitative analysis based on data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project from 2012. First, it describes what Latin American women think about women’s participation in politics and how the general population feels about the participation of women. These sections highlight differences between countries. Then, the chapter seeks to explain in which aspects of political culture Latin American women differ (statistically speaking) from men. In particular, it examines whether women are different from men in terms of conventional and non-conventional political participation and also in other aspects such as interest in politics and support for democracy.