Cynthia McClintock

Why were El Salvador's FMLN and Peru's Shining Path able to mount such serious revolutionary challenges in the 1980s and early 1990s? And why were they able to do so despite the fact that their countries' elected governments were widely considered democratic? These two guerrilla groups were very different, but both came close to success. To explain why, the author examines the complex interplay among political and economic factors, the nature of the revolutionary organization, and international actors. McClintock emphasizes that the end of the Cold War does not mean the end of revolutionary groups, and that the United States can play an important role in determining the outcome of future confrontations. The book concludes with practical policy options for the U.S. government as it looks to foster peace and democracy in the western hemisphere.

El Salvador's FMLN & Peru's Shining Path

Revolutionary Movements in Latin America

Abraham F. Lowenthal

Peru's self-proclaimed "revolution"—surprisingly extensive reforms initiated by the military government—has aroused great interest all over Latin America and the Third World. This book is the first systematic and comprehensive attempt to appraise Peru's current experiment in both national and regional perspective. It compares recent innovative approaches to Peru's problems with the methods used by earlier regimes, providing original and stimulating interpretations of contemporary Peru from the viewpoints of political science, sociology, history, economics, and education. Among the issues considered are the military regime's policies regarding income distribution, foreign investment, education, urbanization, worker-management relations, and land reform. Contributors: Abraham F. Lowenthal, Julio Cotler, Richard Webb, David Collier, Susan Bourque and Scott Palmer, Colin Harding, Robert Drysdale and Robert Myers, Shane Hunt, Peter T. Knight, Jane Jaquette. Originally published in 1976. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Peruvian Experiment Reconsidered

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Cynthia McClintock

During Latin America's third democratic wave, a majority of countries adopted a runoff rule for the election of the president, effectively dampening plurality voting, opening the political arena to new parties, and assuring the public that the president will never have anything less than majority support. In a region in which undemocratic political parties were common and have often been dominated by caudillos, cautious naysayers have voiced concerns about the runoff process, arguing that a proliferation of new political parties vying for power is a sign of inferior democracy. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality rules throughout Latin America, and demonstrates that, in contrast to early scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for democracy in the region. Primarily through qualitative analysis for each country, the author argues that, indeed, an important advantage of runoff is the greater openness of the political arena to new parties--at the same time that measures can be taken to inhibit party proliferation. In this context, it is also the first volume to address whether or not a runoff rule with a reduced threshold (for example, 40% with a 10-point lead) is a felicitous compromise between majority runoff and plurality. The book considers the potential for the superiority of runoff to travel beyond Latin America--in particular, and rather provocatively, to the United States.

Cynthia McClintock

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