POLCAN2ID#: 212
Date: 2014-10-08
Time: 00:00:00
Sent by:
Category: Call for Papers
Subject: A Receding Tide? The ‘pink tide’ and its legacy
A Receding Tide? The ‘pink tide’ and its legacy | Friday, January 9th, 2015 | University of Toronto
After more than a decade and a half of electoral success, the left in Latin America is facing a difficult political context of managing slowing economic growth, high inflation, persistent corruption, and high crime rates. This places the electoral left in Latin America in a challenging position as these issues often benefit centre-right parties. Opinion polls show that the upcoming presidential elections in Brazil and Uruguay will likely go to the second-round and the presidential election in Bolivia will see the margin of victory for President Evo Morales being narrower than in previous elections. In addition, the turbulence of a post-Chavez Venezuela highlights the tensions that the most radical version of left politics in Latin America is currently facing. Should left-wing parties lose these elections, it will represent the first electoral defeat of a ‘pink tide’ government since 1998. In this time of flux, this academic workshop is interested in discussing the potential legacies that the ‘pink tide’ has had for Latin American politics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Has the left been able to create the institutional and policy legacy that is immune to partisan shifts, or do elections still ‘matter’ in Latin America?
- Have the constitutional reforms in some countries, e.g., Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, gained sufficient legitimacy in society and among political forces to constitute a new legal base of these countries democracy?
- What impact has the rise of the middle class, low unemployment and the decline in income inequality in the region had on the electoral strategies of left?
- What legacy have left parties imparted in terms of integrating new actors civil society, e.g., the unemployed, indigenous groups, etc., into the state and governing coalition?
- What has been the impact of the rise of pentecostal christianity in certain countries on the electoral and partisan structure of these countries democracy?
- What does the phrase ‘the left’ mean in contemporary Latin America?
- What legacy has left rule had in terms of forwarding environmental concerns? Is the electoral left still primarily concerned with a modernist development model, or are there indications of a post-development model?
- How have leftist governments responded to the rise in criminality, insecurity, and violence in the larger region and what lessons do they offer to other Latin American states?
About the workshop and submission guidelines:
The workshop is structured to facilitate a fruitful and focused discussion by having a series of presentations followed by a moderated discussion with the audience regarding the themes of the panel. Please submit a 200 word proposal that has a broad focus on the themes articulated above. Please submit the proposal by November 15th, 2014 to pinktide2015@gmail.com. If your proposed paper is accepted to the conference, please submit a minimum of a ten page (2500 word) document by December 15th, 2014. We will then place your paper onto a panel that best fits the theme that you will be addressing.
