The second edition of Latin American Democracy maintains the mix of practitioners and academic that composed the first edition. Contributors from both North and Latin America explore and assess the state of democratic consolidation in Latin America by focusing on the specific issues and challenges confronting democratic governance in the region. "Millett, Holmes and Pérez have undertaken a major revision of their widely read first edition. This new edition offers new material on the environment, decentralization, the economy, indigenous groups and the growing role of China in Latin America. The product is a cohesive volume that provides a comprehensive analysis of recent trends away from democratization. It is written by the top scholars in the field and does an excellent job of looking at topics from both the perspective of the North and that of the South. Unlike other treatments, which focus narrowly on state institutions, this volume goes far beyond that limited perspective and includes such important issues as political culture, populism, crime, corruption, civil-military relations, human rights, the media, and more. A continued must read for scholars, students, and policy makers." -Mitchell A. Seligson, Centennial Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Americas Barometer, Vanderbilt University This comprehensive, edited volume contains chapters on all the usual themes in the political development and democracy literature. Chapters cover the roles of political culture, the military, presidentialism, indigenous movements, the representation of women, the strength of institutions, corruption, crime, inequality, governance, and populism. ...Overall, this is a thorough overview of past and current research on the democratic transition and consolidation throughout Latin America. --L. M. Barnett, Our Lady of the Lake University