Now thoroughly updated in its eighth edition, Modern Latin America is a lively interpretive history and the leading text in the field. Featuring vivid, anecdotal illustrative boxes, the book uses case studies to discuss the major countries and themes of the region over the past 200 years. For each country, Thomas E. Skidmore, Peter H. Smith, and James N. Green examine such central themes as European-New World interaction, racial mixtures, military takeovers, and U.S. intervention in the area.

Visit the companion website at http://library.brown.edu/modernlatinamerica/.

Thomas E. Skidmore is Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University. He is the author of Brazil, Second Edition (OUP, 2009), Politics in Brazil, 1930-1964 (OUP, 2007), and The Politics of Military Rule in Brazil (OUP, 1990).

Peter H. Smith is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Simón Bolívar Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Talons of the Eagle, Fourth Edition, (OUP, 2012) and Democracy in Latin America, Second Edition (OUP, 2011).

James N. Green is Professor of History and Brazilian Studies at Brown University. He is the author of We Cannot Remain Silent: Opposition to the Brazilian Military Dictatorship in the United States (2010) and Beyond Carnival (1999).

1. Why Latin America?
Implications for the United States
Contrast and Paradox
Interpretations of Latin America
Explaining Authoritarianism
Understanding Democracy
Ideas and Themes in This Book

2. The Colonial Foundations
Prelude to Conquest
The European Context
Colonial Spanish America
Portuguese America: A Different World?
Independence for Latin America
The Colonial Response
Achieving Independence
The Brazilian Path
The Aftermath of Independence
The Pull of the International Economy

PART TWO: CASE STUDIES: CHANGE OVER TIME

3. Mexico: The Taming of a Revolution
From Colony to Nationhood
The North American Invasion
Reform, Monarchy, and the Restored Republic
The Díaz Era: Progress at a Price
The Mexican Revolution
Politics and Policy: Patterns of Change
Order, Stability, and Growth
Reshaping Economic Policy
North American Free Trade
The System Unravels
The Contemporary Scene (2000-present)
Return of the Leviathan?

4. Central America: Within the U.S. Orbit
From Colonies to Nationhood
Independence Movements
Liberal Ascendancy and "Republican Dictatorships"
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Coffee and Bananas
Social Developments
Politics and Policy: Panama
Politics and Policy: Nicaragua
Politics and Policy: El Salvador
Politics and Policy: Guatemala
Politics and Policy: Costa Rica

5. Cuba: Key Colony, Socialist State
From Colony to Nationhood
Dubious Independence
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Politics and Policy: Patterns of Change
Fidel Castro and the Batista Regime
The Cuban Revolution
Framing U.S. Policies
The Bay of Pigs
The Missile Crisis
The Hardening of U.S. Policy
Policy Experimentation
Consolidating the Regime
The Contemporary Scene (1990-present)

6. The Andes: Soldiers and Oligarchs, Indians and Populists
From Colony to Nationhood
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Peru: From Guano to Minerals
Bolivia: Tin, Silver, and Gas
Ecuador: From Cacao to Petroleum
Politics and Policy: Peru
Flirting with Alternatives
The Military Revolution
Struggles of Civilian Governments
Fujimori's Limited Democracy
The Contemporary Scene (2000-Present)
Politics and Policy: Bolivia
The Chaco War (1932-35)
The Revolution of 1952
Military Rule and Popular Resistance
The Contemporary Scene (2005-Present)
Politics and Policy: Ecuador
Caudillos, Conservatives, and Liberals
Cacao, Prosperity, and Turmoil
Bananas and Dictators
The Contemporary Scene (1979-Present)

7. Colombia: Civility and Violence
From Colony to Nationhood
Independence and Its Aftermath
Creating Political Parties
Rafael Núñez and the Politics of Regeneration
The Loss of Panama
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Politics and Policy: Patterns of Change
Gaitán, Reaction, and La Violencia
The National Front
The Contemporary Scene (1990-present)
Hard-Line Politics
Kinder and Gentler

8. Venezuela: The Perils of Prosperity
From Colony to Nationhood
Coffee and Caudillos
Gunboats and Diplomacy
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Politics and Policy: Patterns of Change
Punto Fijo Democracy
Institutional Ossification
The Contemporary Scene (1998-present)
Conflicts with Uncle Sam
The Limits of Participatory Democracy
Chavismo without Chávez?

9. Argentina: Progress, Stalemate, Discord
From Colony to Nationhood
Struggles for Supremacy
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Politics and Policy: Patterns of Change
The Military Turns Back the Clock
Peronism and Perón
Stop-and-Go Politics
The Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Solution
Peronists Back in Power
The Military Returns
The Contemporary Scene (1983-present)
The Unperonist Peronist
The Kirchner Era

10. Chile: Repression and Democracy
From Colony to Nationhood
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Politics and Policy: Patterns of Change
From Instability to Popular Front
The Era of Party Politics
Socialism via Democracy?
Countdown to a Coup
The Pinochet Regime
The Contemporary Scene (1990-present)

11. Brazil: The Awakening Giant
From Colony to Nationhood
Dom Pedro I (1822-1831)
Dom Pedro II (1840-1889)
End of the Empire
Overview: Economic Growth and Social Change
Politics and Policy: Patterns of Change
The First Republic (1889-1930)
Getúlio Vargas and the Estado Novo
The Second Republic (1946-1964)
Military Rule
From Liberalization to Redemocratization
The Contemporary Scene (1994-present)
Brazil's First Working-Class President
End of an Era?

PART THREE: THEMES AND REFLECTIONS

12. Strategies for Economic Development
Narratives of Backwardness
The Liberal Era (1880s-1920s)
State Transformation under Liberalism
Import-Substitution Industrialization (1930s-1970s)
ISI in Theory
ISI in Practice
The Socialist Alternative (1950s-1980s)
Revolutionary Movements
Neoliberalism (1980s-present)
Free Trade
Countermoves
The Crash of '08
Poverty and Inequality
Inequality and Income Distribution

13. Dynamics of Political Transformation
Categories for Analysis
Oligarchic Rule and Top-Down Reform (1880s-1920s)
Co-optative Democracy
Populism and Dictatorship (1930s-1970s)
Women and Politics
A Surge of Democracy
Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Regimes
The Revolutionary Path (1950s-1980s)
Liberation Theology
An Expansion of Democracy (1980s-present)
Empowerment of Women
The Rise of the New Left
The Pulse of Democratic Change
Dangers of Democracy
Democracy Made Safe
Democracy Turns Left

14. Culture and Society
From Colonies to Nations
Romanticism, Indians, and Slaves
Literature, Art, and New Ideas in a World Economy
Realism and Naturalism
Modernism
Nationalism, Radical Politics, and Turbulent Times
Brazilian Modernism
Revolutionary Art and Literature
Rethinking Race
The Making of Mass Media
Popular Culture, Theater, and Sports
Latin America Culture Enters a World Market
Innovative Architecture
Revolutionary Culture
The Literary Boom
Dictatorship, Democracy, and New Social Movements
Films, Pop Music, and the Internet

15. Latin America in the World Arena, 1800s-1980s
Imperialism in the Americas
America's Aspirations
The Rise of U.S. Influence
Consolidating U.S. Power
The Cold War
The Logic of the Cold War
Cold War in Latin America
The Nationalist Impulse
The Revolutionary Challenge
The Alliance for Progress
Development and Debt

16. Latin America in the World Arena, 1990s-Present
After the Cold War
The Clinton Era
Wars on Terror
Obama's Wars
George Bush and Latin America
Obama and Latin America
Confronting the United States
Mexico
Brazil
Venezuela
Seeking Outside Allies
The Intermestic Agenda
Migration
Immigration under Obama
Drug Trafficking
Drug Policy under Obama
Policy Debates
Perspectives on the Future

Glossary
Guide to Website
Index