Dictatorship & Democracy in Latin America

First Paper

Write a 5-6 page (typed, double-spaced, page-numbered, and proofread) essay explaining how we might approach the historical problem of dictatorship in Latin America after Independence.

What are the causes and character of dictatorship in early 19^th Century Latin America? You have looked at a number of descriptions of centralized authority in 19^th Century Latin America. Most of the authors have attempted to place the politics of power into a comparative context in order to locate their case study within larger theories of political development. Their arguments are each distinct; their descriptions and explanations do not easily reconcile into a single synthetic historical explanation. Your job is to attempt one.

Using as many of the readings and discussions from class as you can, construct an Argument that suggests how we might begin to understand the uniqueness of the Latin American political experience in the 19^th Century in terms of the causes and descriptions of power that you have studied thus far. What are the economic, political, geographic, international, socio-cultural (etc.) origins of centralized power in Latin America?

If you believe there is no real pattern, then how would you answer the authors we have read that claim there is?

Use proper citations/footnotes. You may use any accepted style for your citations, as long as you are consistent.

Due on Friday, September 22.

Late papers will receive one full grade reduction. If you hand in a late paper by the 22^nd, then it must be 6-7 pages long, by the 29^th it must be 7-8 pages long... etc.

Some Tips for Writing the First Paper