Dramatic changes have occurred in recent years in countries throughout the Americas. Neoliberal policy prescriptions promoted by international financial agencies have failed to deliver significant growth, and have led to rising levels of poverty and inequality. This collection brings together a diverse range of analyses to interrogate these changes occurring in the Americas, from Canada to Venezuela to Chile. Authors debate the reasons for the election of a large number of New Left governments in Latin America, and discuss the significance of the policies they have adopted. Do these policies represent a radical shift in direction towards a post-neoliberal era, or only a kinder and gentler form of neoliberalism? How do New Left governments differ from each other? At the same time, some governments in the Americas, particularly in North America, continue to cling to neoliberal policy prescriptions despite their problems. However, authors in this collection argue that transformations have occurred even in these neo-liberal holdouts. The book offers an essential overview of recent changes in the hemisphere, highlighting both the continuities and discontinuities in neoliberal practice.
'[A] provocative edited volume, which will appeal to academic audiences but also to the informed reader...Perhaps the most innovative feature of the collection is its geographic reach, encompassing Canada and the US as well as Latin America, and combining comparative thematic chapters with country case studies.' - Times Higher Education
Introduction: Post-Neoliberalism in the Americas, An Introduction; L.Macdonald & A.Ruckert
PART I: CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO POST-NEOLIBERALISM
The Contradictions of Neoliberalism in Latin America: From Structural Adjustment to 'Empowering the Poor'; M.Taylor
Post-Neoliberalism and the New Left in the Americas: The Pathways of Economic and Trade Policies; P.Heidrich & D.Tussie
Struggling between Autonomy and Institutional Transformations: Social Movements in Latin America and the Move towards Post-Neoliberalism; U.Brand & N.Sekler
Post-Neoliberalism and the Emergence of Human Rights Politics in International Finance; E.Friesen
PART II: POST-NEOLIBERALISM IN LATIN AMERICA
Hugo Chavez and the Search for Post-Neoliberal Policy Alternatives in Venezuela; J.Meltzer
From Naked Barbarism to Barbarism with Benefits: Neoliberal Capitalism, Natural Gas Policy and the Evo Morales Government in Bolivia; J.R.Webber
Is There a Post-Neoliberal Policy towards Foreign Direct Investment in Argentina and Chile?; P.Alexander Haslam
The World Bank and the Poverty Reduction Strategy of Nicaragua: Towards a Post-Neoliberal World Development Order?; A.Ruckert
The 'Re-branding' of Neoliberalism: Competing Hegemonies and Systemic Dilemmas Impacting Educational Development in Heavily-Indebted Latin American States; A.Davidson-Harden
PART III: TRANSFORMATIONS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN THE AMERICAS
Neoliberalism and the Micropolitics of Domination in the United States; M.Hawkesworth
Poverty Policy and Politics in Canada and Mexico: `Inclusive' Liberalism?; R.Mahon & L.Macdonald
The Shaping of Motherhood through Social Investment in Children: Examples from Canada and Mexico; L.Luccisano & G.Wall
Neoliberalism's Agnosticism: Domestic and Immigration Policies and the Model Family in Canada and the United States; L.Harder
Colombia's Neoliberal Regime of Governance: Securitization by Dispossession; C.Rojas
Afterword: Post-Neoliberal Politics and Pathways; L.Macdonald & A.Ruckert
Bibliography
LAURA MACDONALD is Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Institute of Political Economy at Carleton University, Canada and co-director of the Centre on North American Politics and Society. She is the author of Supporting Civil Society and co-author of Women, Democracy, and Globalization in North America: A Comparative Study. Her current research covers such issues as citizenship struggles in Latin America, the political impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on human rights and democracy in the three member states, and social citizenship in North America.
ARNE RUCKERT is Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He has published widely on the international financial institutions (IFIs) and their evolving aid paradigm, and is currently undertaking research on the impacts of Poverty Reduction Strategies and the role of the IFIs in transnational governance.
Description
Dramatic changes have occurred in recent years in countries throughout the Americas. Neoliberal policy prescriptions promoted by international financial agencies have failed to deliver significant growth, and have led to rising levels of poverty and inequality. This collection brings together a diverse range of analyses to interrogate these changes occurring in the Americas, from Canada to Venezuela to Chile. Authors debate the reasons for the election of a large number of New Left governments in Latin America, and discuss the significance of the policies they have adopted. Do these policies represent a radical shift in direction towards a post-neoliberal era, or only a kinder and gentler form of neoliberalism? How do New Left governments differ from each other? At the same time, some governments in the Americas, particularly in North America, continue to cling to neoliberal policy prescriptions despite their problems. However, authors in this collection argue that transformations have occurred even in these neo-liberal holdouts. The book offers an essential overview of recent changes in the hemisphere, highlighting both the continuities and discontinuities in neoliberal practice.
Reviews
'[A] provocative edited volume, which will appeal to academic audiences but also to the informed reader...Perhaps the most innovative feature of the collection is its geographic reach, encompassing Canada and the US as well as Latin America, and combining comparative thematic chapters with country case studies.' - Times Higher Education
Contents
Introduction: Post-Neoliberalism in the Americas, An Introduction; L.Macdonald & A.Ruckert
PART I: CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO POST-NEOLIBERALISM
The Contradictions of Neoliberalism in Latin America: From Structural Adjustment to 'Empowering the Poor'; M.Taylor
Post-Neoliberalism and the New Left in the Americas: The Pathways of Economic and Trade Policies; P.Heidrich & D.Tussie
Struggling between Autonomy and Institutional Transformations: Social Movements in Latin America and the Move towards Post-Neoliberalism; U.Brand & N.Sekler
Post-Neoliberalism and the Emergence of Human Rights Politics in International Finance; E.Friesen
PART II: POST-NEOLIBERALISM IN LATIN AMERICA
Hugo Chavez and the Search for Post-Neoliberal Policy Alternatives in Venezuela; J.Meltzer
From Naked Barbarism to Barbarism with Benefits: Neoliberal Capitalism, Natural Gas Policy and the Evo Morales Government in Bolivia; J.R.Webber
Is There a Post-Neoliberal Policy towards Foreign Direct Investment in Argentina and Chile?; P.Alexander Haslam
The World Bank and the Poverty Reduction Strategy of Nicaragua: Towards a Post-Neoliberal World Development Order?; A.Ruckert
The 'Re-branding' of Neoliberalism: Competing Hegemonies and Systemic Dilemmas Impacting Educational Development in Heavily-Indebted Latin American States; A.Davidson-Harden
PART III: TRANSFORMATIONS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN THE AMERICAS
Neoliberalism and the Micropolitics of Domination in the United States; M.Hawkesworth
Poverty Policy and Politics in Canada and Mexico: `Inclusive' Liberalism?; R.Mahon & L.Macdonald
The Shaping of Motherhood through Social Investment in Children: Examples from Canada and Mexico; L.Luccisano & G.Wall
Neoliberalism's Agnosticism: Domestic and Immigration Policies and the Model Family in Canada and the United States; L.Harder
Colombia's Neoliberal Regime of Governance: Securitization by Dispossession; C.Rojas
Afterword: Post-Neoliberal Politics and Pathways; L.Macdonald & A.Ruckert
Bibliography
Authors
LAURA MACDONALD is Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Institute of Political Economy at Carleton University, Canada and co-director of the Centre on North American Politics and Society. She is the author of Supporting Civil Society and co-author of Women, Democracy, and Globalization in North America: A Comparative Study. Her current research covers such issues as citizenship struggles in Latin America, the political impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on human rights and democracy in the three member states, and social citizenship in North America.
ARNE RUCKERT is Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He has published widely on the international financial institutions (IFIs) and their evolving aid paradigm, and is currently undertaking research on the impacts of Poverty Reduction Strategies and the role of the IFIs in transnational governance.
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