Moral Ecological Rationality,Institutions and the Management of Common Property Resources

This article considers theories of collective action in relation to the management of communal water resources in Nkayi District, Zimbabwe. Taking a critical view of institutional explanations of common property resource management, it illustrates how the addition of social theory can enrich such approaches. The prevalence of rational choice premises in defining the problem of collective action and the persuasiveness of institutionalism in apparently offering solutions to it is questioned. The article rejects simple evolutionary theorizing about institutions in favour of an embedded approach that allows for complexity, for the social and historical location of collective action and for an examination of the interface between agent and structure. It is argued here that collective management of water supplies does exist but that it is more partial, changeable and evolving and less attributable to single factors than suggested in much of the literature.     

Security in Latin America

This article provides an overview of recent trends in Latin American security and examines three common assumptions that underpin both academic analysis and policy debate—assumptions about the links between political democracy, economic integration and regional stability, and about the need to broaden the agenda of regional security. In contrast to the liberal orthodoxy, there is little reason to believe that the promotion of political democracy and economic liberalization and integration will automatically tend towards regional stability, especially given the weakness of regional institutions, the fragility of many states, the inequality of power among states, and the lack of consensus over the meaning and implications of the 'new security agenda'.     

Fighting Inflation in Latin America

Inflation has been a chronic problem for Latin American economies since the Second World War. In the 1980s, inflation ran out of control in many countries. This article analyses the causes of these high inflation rates and discusses the experiences of Latin American countries in fighting (hyper-) inflation in the 1980s and 1990s. Particular attention is given to the relative merits of orthodox versus heterodox approaches, and to the use of the exchange rate as an inflation stabilizer. The article concludes, among other things, that achieving fiscal balance is crucial, whatever method is used, and that a fixed exchange rate can help to stabilize inflation but contains many risks, in particular with open capital accounts.     

Ethics and Archaeological Tourism in Latin America

Archaeological tourism and ethics are two fields that, with exceptions, scholars have been reluctant to combine. There is, however, an increasing concern on the general subject of tourism and ethics and this article will draw examples from Latin America to explore the intersection between both. An overview of the history of archaeological tourism in Latin America will be provided. A growing number of archaeologists all over Latin America are becoming active in promoting or assisting the conversion of sites into tourist attractions. For some, it is a way of protecting sites in the face of the dangers brought about by uncontrolled tourism and for others helping locals to earn a living is a humanitarian question. Yet, archaeological remains are not neutral, but powerful means of creating historical memory and identity. Tourism becomes a means of advertising and even of legitimizing the existence of groups and that politicizes archaeologists’ engagement with tourism. This politicization represents an ethical challenge for the profession. Also, the conversion of archaeological ruins into tourist attractions can only be made through the commodification of culture. This has been denounced by some scholars as another postcolonial appropriation and neoliberal method of controlling indigenous groups, but hailed by others as a good thing for indigenous communities as it provides them with a living.     

Indigenous myths and nation building in Latin America

In Latin America, ethnicity is equated with indigenity. It is an objective of this article to review the legacy of Anthony Smith regarding the vitality of the ethnic past and the myth of origin, as the core of his theory of nationalism based on the weight of ethnocentrism. To this end, we address two routes, the use of the ethnic past and ethnicity by nationalists and founders of the state and, how indigenous intellectuals, on the other, have found a reinvention of their identities through various myths of Amerindian origin. Ethnic myths and the use of the ethnic past have been accepted, denied or rejected by nationalists, while indigenous peoples adhere to their own myths or seek to reinvent them. Mythical information is a component of identity but also requires institutions to disseminate such information among the group.     

拉丁美洲与加勒比地区的国际移民——兼论中国移民的生存发展空间

通过对拉美历史上四次国际移民历史和趋向的发展变化、非法移民及其原因、移民侨汇对国民经济的重大影响、移民跨国中小企业的形成与发展等方面的分析,探讨了拉丁美洲与加勒比地区国际移民的历史、现状以及中国移民在这一地区的生存与发展空间。     

Development,Neoliberalism and Electoral Politics in Latin America

The purpose of this article is to discuss the impact of the current economic crisis on development strategies in Latin America, and the ways in which redefinitions of the notion of development have transformed Latin American politics during the period of democratization. The article examines, specifically, the rise of the neoliberal movement in Latin America and its impact on policy-making, parties and electoral politics. It argues that in spite of the electoral inroads recently made by neoliberal parties, political organizations of the New Right remain weak, either because they are the product of unstable political coalitions with a slim chance of surviving electoral defeat, or because the renewal of populist parties has pre-empted the growth of neoliberal parties.     

Marketing in Latin America: A Photo Essay

Marketing is a fundamental human activity that reflects the nature of the societies in which it occurs. In Latin America, the great diversity of marketing is a product of the differences in culture, economy, settlement pattern and standard of living which characterize the region. This essay uses photographs taken over a 30-year period (1963-1994) to illustrate marketing in Latin America. They were taken in countries ranging from Mexico to Argentina. The types of marketing portrayed extend from traditional periodic markets, little changed from pre- Columbian times, to modern upscale shopping centers that feature stores selling the latest in electronic equipment. Because these diverse types of marketing still exist, sometimes in relatively close proximity, as vital and important forms of economic exchange, they send a strong message about the continuity of traditions among Latin America's marginalized lower classes, and about the sophistication and buying power of the wealthy urban elite who can adopt consumption patterns similar to those of the world's industrialized countries.