I’m starting to put together my syllabi for next year. And so I’ve been reading some new books that I plan to use for my classes. Currently, I’m working my way through an incredibly interesting book on Nepal: Many Tongues, One People by Arjun Guneratne.

On a personal note: a story about K8’s research got digged. If you wondered what her NSF research was about, or why she drives to Delaware every week, now you know.

The Monday deadlines came & went. And I’m pleased to share that I’ll be joining Mount Saint Mary’s University in the fall. I think it’s a great fit for me, personally & professionally. It’s also conveniently located near K8’s post-doc at the University of Delaware, which means I don’t have to move far away. Most importantly, it’s tenure track.

The spring speaker series I put together at Dickinson is winding down, w/ two final speakers who will focus on the Andes.

If you’re in the Dickinson area, you may want to check out the next installment of our Latin American Studies spring speaker series. Anthropologist Steve Striffler (University of Arkansas) will speak on “Colombia, Coal, and Transnational Labor Solidarity.” The focus is on the effects of coal mining on indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.

If you’re in the Dickinson area next week, you may be interested in the next installments of our Latin American Studies speaker series.

There’s been some discussion about a recent ABC News report that a Fulbright scholar in Bolivia was asked to “spy” on Venezuelans & Cubans in Bolivia (to be precise: to report if he had seen any, who, and where) during his mandatory security briefing.¹ I’ll refer to the discussion at Gringo Tambo (a group blog of primarily ex-Fulbrighters who study Bolivia).

If you’re in the Dickinson area next Thursday, come see the first speaker in our spring Latin American Studies speaker series.

My proposal for the 2008 MPSA (Midwest Political Science Association) conference has just been accepted. Time for my research assistant & I to get cracking on our database project. Here’s the proposal (sorry the abstract is so long):

I’ve had trouble getting some of my students (in a 200-level political science course on “Democracy & Democratization”) to engage in the semester readings. So finally I decided put together a handout to walk them through a single article.

This is cross-posted at the LAPIS blog:

I’ve just finished the syllabus for my spring 2008 research methods course. Here’s the syllabus.

Washington Monthly editor Paul Glastris was on last night’s Colbert Report discussing his magazine’s college rankings. The issue sparked by interest, because Dickinson’s president (Bill Durden) is a leading champion against the US News college ranking system, which has recently come under criticism.

I’m teaching a multidisciplinary introduction to Latin American studies course next semester. It took me a while to conceptualize the course, but here’s the syllabus. Below are some of the texts I’m assigning (also in my Amazon bookstore). Comments are always welcome.

Last month, I posted some reflections on 9/11 & the question of “the American idea” (though I didn’t use that exact expression). This month, The Atlantic celebrated 150 years w/ a series of contributions from writers, artists, poets, and other public intellectuals. They were asked to contribute something (either in writing or in art) on “The Future of the American idea.” It’s worth a look.

Last semester, I conducted a voting simulation in several political science classes (thank you, colleagues) at Dickinson. This year, I hope to expand that to a much broader cross-section of the student body. In addition, I’m hoping to rope in a few other colleges & universities, if possible. I’ll be running the simulation at Dickinson from October 22 through November 2.

If you’re a LASA (Latin American Studies Association) member, you’re invited to join the LAPIS (Political Institutions Section) discussion of the recent LASA Congress in Montréal.

A recent study by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) shows that most American college students can’t pass a test on political institutions & history. I know standardized tests aren’t de rigueur. But they do seem to say something. Like how a fifth of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map. So I took the ISI civics quiz. Some of the questions were trickier than I thought, but I’m happy to report that I passed (though only w/ a 93.3%). Care to try your luck?

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PS. It turns out the above claim about American’s geographic ignorance isn't true. Here’s a 2006 National Geographic report.

I was officially notified that I’ve been awarded a Dickinson Dana Research Assistantship grant, which allows me to hire a student research assistant for the academic year. This will make my Bolivian political parties database project—which I need for my April MPSA paper—much more manageable. Whew!

It’s perhaps fitting that today—on the anniversary of “9/11”—my Democracy & Democratization class is reading the first chapter of Samuel Huntington’s The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (1991). It’s fitting because “9/11” is both the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 2001 and of the US-supported (if not directly “backed”) Chilean military coup of 1973.

While Huntington’s work has been controversial, he’s made some important insights that aren’t easily dismissed—and shouldn’t be overlooked. One of them is this snippet on pages 29-30:

“… the future of democracy in the world is of special importance to Americans. The United States is the premier democratic country in the modern world, and its identity as a nation is inseparable from its commitment to liberal and democratic values. Other nations may fundamentally change their political systems and continue their existence as nations. The United States does not have that option.”

Most of the class discussion will focus on the Huntington’s introduction to the idea of “waves” of democratization, which they’re reading alongside Dankward Rustow’s 1970 classic article, “Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model.” But I hope we have a chance to parse out this Huntington nugget (which closely follows an argument that increased democratization throughout the world may bring more peace & less violence). Because what Huntington notes in this passage is that US political identity is wrapped up in our belief in liberal, democratic values. The US isn’t only the premier democracy (for all its faults), but the world’s premier case of “civic” (as opposed to organic, ethnic, or cultural) nationalism.

The US wasn’t founded on the belief that “the American people” should govern themselves (in the way that, say, the Serbian nation-state is explicitly Serbian and not for others in Serbian territory—this example could be applied to a host of “ethnic” nation-states), but on the belief that people should. Re-read the first line of the Declaration of Independence; it clearly implies a universal scope. And it suggests that the US has a founding mission to promote the spread of democracy.

Perhaps if we paid more attention to the struggle for freedom & democracy around the world, we wouldn’t be so surprised in international relations. And we may need to constantly remind ourselves that our first priority—or “prime directive”—as a state is to act in ways that promote democratic values around the world. Perhaps the last question made before any policy decision should be this: “Will this policy hinder or advance the cause of freedom in the world?”

The conference was physically draining. Perhaps it was driving nearly 10 hours both ways, but I’m just completely drained. But there were some quality panels, which I enjoyed. And Montréal—in terms of local food & beer—is fantastic (K8 & I both agreed that the food in Montréal was better than in Paris).

I’m at LASA, in Montréal. It was a long (but not tedious) drive. And now I’m enjoying free WiFi in the hotel lobby, catching up on emails. The panels are interesting, of course (though we missed Alvaro García Linera’s presentation). And I’m hoping not to completely burn out before my Saturday panel (and I’ll need energy for the drive back!).

Catching up w/ Bolivian news is disturbing, but not unexpected. Street violence in Sucre, w/ promises of more to come. Both sides are to blame of course. And inflation has hit double digits (sparking fears of hyperinflation).

YouTube recently launched a University Channel, and Dickinson is participating in the project. Our first video is a 40-minute panel discussion preceding a screening of The Situation, a film about contemporary Iraq. I attended the event, which took place a few months ago. I found both the discussion & the film thought-provoking (even if the film, as a film, wasn’t all that good).

I’m using more YouTube snippets in the classroom. I have these “smart” classrooms, so why not take advantage of them? Or I simply point my students to them, as extra “reading” assignments. Today’s discussion (in my comparative politics course), for example, will make use of FP’s Failed States Index & a series of short (4-10 minute) interviews w/ diplomats from “failed” states (as rated by FP).

Just a quick note: I’ve been following the use of Facebook in the 2007-08 presidential primary races. Here’s a paper on about the Facebook & the 2006 mid-term elections. This is the kind of thing I plan to use in my Spring 2008 research methods course.

I doubt it’s a coincidence (coming on the heels of the government’s attack on Bolivian social scientists), but a new book on MAS was publicly presented Saturday. The book is MAS y la democracia by Fernado Molina Monasterios (La Paz, Bolivia: Eureka!, 2007).

You may be able to find it soon from Escaparate Cultural, which distributes Bolivian publications. Molina has been around for a while (he also worked on the 1994 Ley de Participación Popular). I have his Bajo el signo del cambio (2006), Evo Morales y el retorno de la izquierda nacionalista (2006), Crítica de las ideas políticas de la nueva izquierda boliviana (2003), and a number of older works no longer available.

Some exciting (non-baby) changes: I am (as of yesterday morning) Latin American Studies program coordinator at Dickinson College.

A day after a regionalist opposition-led strike, Bolivia’s government shot back. It has frequently attacked the opposition for its ties to the US & other international NGOs (such ties do exist, of course), specifically singling out the US for its “political” aid. Of course, isn’t all aid “political”? Or does Venezuela’s millions in military & other aid not serve a “political” purpose? But today’s attacks resembled a witch hunt.

Álvaro García Linera, Bolivia’s vice president, is giving a lecture on “Marxism and Indianism” at Cornell University on September 3. The event is co-sponsored by the university’s Latin American Studies Program.

Florida International University’s prestigious Latin America and Caribbean Center (LACC) is hosting a mini-conference on Bolivia in on September 17: “Bolivia Hoy: Miradas Constructivas.” Speakers include Manuel de la Fuente, Maria Eugenia Choque, Javier Hurtado, and Pablo Mamani. The discussant will be Eduardo Gamarra.

My latest essay for Tiempo Político¹ is up today. It’s titled: “Reelección indefinida y ‘democradura’: ¿un modelo chavista para Bolivia?” I’ve posted similar discussions on indefinite reelection here & here. I’ve provided an English translation below.

Below is the list of articles I’m assigning in my undergraduate “Democracy & Democratization” course this Fall.

I barely made the deadline to be included in the CD, but I’ve sent out the paper I’m presenting next month at the Montréal LASA conference. It’s not nearly as “finished” as I’d have liked, but there’ll be plenty of time to revise it later. Here’s the (overly ambitious, not fully realized) abstract:

Facebook (and the internet in general) is transforming life as we know it. Including academic life. I recently joined a Facebook group for those interested in teaching comparative politics (the admin is Patrick O’Neil, author of Essentials of Comparative Politics). There’s also a companion blog: Teaching Comparative. Enjoy!

In a recent post, listed a recent article by Martin Brienen (“Interminable Revolution: Populism and Frustration in 20th Century Bolivia”) . The article was published in the most recent (Spring-Winter 2007) issue of SAIS Review, which has a number of interesting articles on populism around the world (not just Latin America).

Greg Weeks posted a brief comment on the recent proposal (finally formally unveiled) by MAS to allow for presidential re-election in Bolivia. This was seen coming for a while (it was discussed in public discourse for several months). But it came late to the formal agenda of the Constituent Assembly, which has basically thrown a monkey wrench in the works—and this as the Assembly seems unable to make its original August deadline for a draft constitution (which was supposed to go to public referendum on 6 August).

The following is a list of some recent journal articles dealing with Bolivian politics. I’ve not yet had a chance to read through many of the most recent (2007) ones; I’ve included a few older (2005-2006) articles that I think are particularly useful. Many of the links won’t work if you’re trying to access them w/o university, college, or similar institution access.

For those interested in political parties & electoral systems around the world, the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) recently released its CSES Module 2 (2001-2006) data set to the public (Module 1 includes 1996-2001). Bolivia is not included in the data set, but there are several Latin American cases. You need to register to use the data, but registration is free.

CSES is affiliated w/ the ICPSR (Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research), headquartered at the University of Michigan.

My friend Clare Sammells (an anthropologist doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago) recently organized & launched a group website & blog devoted to Bolivia. It’s called Gringo Tambo, after the apartment in Sopocachi (a La Paz neighborhood) where several Fulbrighters have passed through. When time allows, I’ll post materials there. In the meantime, please check it out. It’s a space for social scientists who think about Bolivia (and those interested in reading what we think).

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PS. My wife has started posting there.

A short column I wrote for Tiempo Político¹ came out today. I won’t have time to translate it, but the column (“Ingeniería electoral: el sistema de voto alternativo [Electoral engineering: the alternative vote system]”) is based on this this earlier post. And w/ that I’m off on the road to Pittsburgh.

Although I taught a number of courses at Western before coming to Dickinson, it’s fair to consider this my “rookie” year. After all, I taught a larger number of courses, was a full member of the faculty, and had more responsibilities integrating my work into the broader department & college-wide curriculum. So it’s fair to say that I’ve learned a number of things from my first year at a private liberal arts college. Here are my top seven lessons learned:

Over the last few days, an online discussion at the The Democracy Center (a place I respected) blog completely disintegrated. An anonymous poster known only as “El Grindio” decided to suggest that my “weak intellect” was a product on my “genetic code” (eugenics, anyone?). There was more (oh, much more!) in that racist vein. Which is a shame, because it has—at least for now—completely shattered what should be an interesting forum for the exchange of views on contemporary Bolivian politics.

This is from two weeks ago, but since I’m taking breaks from grading, I thought I’d plug it: John Crabtree (Oxford) frequently writes about the Andes for openDemocracy, an online peer-review journal of world politics; his latest article (“Latin American democracy: time to experiment”) discusses recent developments in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. It’s worth a look. The advantage of online journals, of course, is that they’re more accessible and link to other relevant websites.

We’re having a bit of a Bolivian blog convention here in Carlisle. MABB, who’s in the US visiting family, drove up w/ his wife. I was surprised at how comfortable it was to just start interacting in person (we never met in person, though we’ve commented on each other’s blogs & emailed since 2003).

According to a La Razón report (“La Asamblea propone un Congreso 100% uninominal”), Bolivia’s Constituent Assembly is considering radical changes to the composition of the legislature in the new constitution. The first is to move from a bicameral to a unicameral legislature. The second is to transform all legislators into “uninominal” representatives elected in single-member districts (SMDs).

One of the perks of academic life is free books. Often, these are unsolicited new offerings from the big textbook presses. But sometimes I get a nice set of books that I’ve actually requested (though not always free) that are more personally intriguing—and/or useful to my own research interests. Today I received a hefty (and much-anticipated) package from Cambridge University Press.

One of the greatest challenges facing Bolivia’s Constituent Assembly—and one that wasn’t faced by other such recent assemblies in Peru (1992) or Venezuela (1999), though the upcoming Ecuadorian case might—is the issue of deep regional cleavages & demands for regional autonomy. Despite all the international attention on other issues or potential reforms (macroeconomic reforms, nationalization of strategic industries, indigenous ethnic/cultural issues, etc.), the one that stands at the center stage of Bolivian politics today is the issue of regional autonomy. The four lowland (and petroleum-rich) departments—Tarija, Santa Cruz, Beni, and Pando—are adamantly demanding political autonomy, whether in a form of federalism or federacy or something else. It’s important to note, of course, that these are also the regions where the opposition (led by PODEMOS & the MNR) are strongest (and where Evo’s MAS is weakest).

It’s on the back burner—sort of (is anything ever really “on the back burner”?)—but I just got two potential textbooks sent to me by Sage. Both are potential texts for my Spring 2008 semester methods course; both are written by John W. Cresswell (U of Nebraska).

This is more confessional than informational. But making these things public makes it more likely to happen. So w/ the semester quickly crashing to an end—and the mountain of grading that comes w/ it—I need to make a list of all the items that must get done before June:

It’s a little early, but I’m starting to think about books for Spring 2008, when I teach Latin American Government & Politics again. I’ve decided that country focuses (yes, I know it’s actually “foci”) are probably best (and well liked by students), but I want ones that highlight some distinct element of a “comparative politics” approach to the study of Latin America.

Sometimes I like running little experiments—simulations, games, activities—in my classes. I think they’re useful to illustrate a point, or to dissect an argument, or even just to make complex ideas more accessible (and fun). This week I roped another six faculty into my latest project: presidential voting simulations.

I’m particularly pleased that the Dickinson intramural faculty team (Team “A Useful Education”) won its first game—and in the playoffs, where it really counted! Sadly, I missed the excitement, since I was attending an evening presentation by Julio Carrión (U of Delaware), the Latin American Studies guest speaker.

The MPSA conference was great. I enjoyed most of the panels that I attended, including the two I presented on. Even if I was the only presenter w/o regression tables (which is usually a must at MPSA conference). But my paper on Bolivian presidentialism was especially well received—which actually sparked the perfect idea for how to frame my “book” (as I move from dissertation to book manuscript in the next few months).

I’m presenting two papers at the Midwest Political Science Association meeting in Chicago next weekend. The second paper is (finally!) finished; here’s the abstract:

I’m presenting two papers at the Midwest Political Science Association meeting in Chicago in two weeks. The first paper is finished; the second still needs some work. Here’s the abstract: