John D. Martz

Institutional confidence and democratic consolidation in Latin America

Citizen confidence in the institutions of their nations is critical to democratic consolidation in Latin America. The data provided by the Latinobarómetro survey in 1995 mark the beginning of significant empirical investigation in this realm. While longitudinal comparisons are not yet possible, institutional confidence for the major countries as of 1995 can be probed. This study considers three levels of generality: the comparative study of institutions in the region; patterns of confidence related to political culture; and the degree of political learning derived from the repressive dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s.

Understanding Latin American Politics: Analytic Models & Intellectual Traditions

Corporatism, liberal developmentalism, and dependencia are the major approaches to the study of Latin American politics one is likely to encounter in recent and current scholarship. The proponents of each urge its adoption to the exclusion of others. Professors Martz and Myers argue that this inclination produces generalizations that not only misrepresent the reality of Latin American politics but also fail to convey the rich diversity of its intellectual tradition in which monism, liberal pluralism, and Marxism have long coexisted, even mingled.

The conduct of social research in Latin America: A personal view of problems in open and closed societies

The barriers to social research in Latin America are substantial, and go far beyond textbook descriptions of orthodox methods and techniques of investigation. The scholar working in the field must be alert to opportunities and sensitive to atypical research issues. Flexibility is a prerequisite, one requiring personal insight into the society and polity being studied. Contrasts are drawn between research in open and in closed societies. However, these are not necessarily polar extremes in terms of the context for inquiry; one is not axiomatically more difficult than the other. The one certainty that may be anticipated, as suggested by more than a quarter-century of personal experience, lies in the unpredictability of challenges and obstacles which enrich the skills and the understanding of the investigator.

Economic Relationships and the Early Debate over Free Trade

The history of free trade in the Western Hemisphere can be traced back more than a century. Indeed, the Spanish colonial legacy set patterns that were followed during much of the nineteenth century. Early trade patterns were marked increasingly by the intrusive demands of the industrial nations. U.S. efforts to secure its interests in this regard were highlighted by the 1889-90 Washington Conference and by the ardent efforts of James G. Blaine. Even before the dawning of the twentieth century, Latin American suspicions of North American motives were profound, and this was manifested in the basic hostility toward free trade proposals.