(Coordinated by Prof. Evelyne Huber, UNC-CH Dept. of Political Science, email ehuber@unc.edu; Prof. Jonathan Hartlyn, UNC-CH Dept. of Political Science, email hartlyn@unc.edu; Prof. Karen Remmer, Duke Dept. of Political Science, email remmer@duke.edu; Prof. Gary Gereffi, Duke Dept. of Sociology, email ggere@soc.duke.edu).

The central goals of this working group are to improve our understanding of the relationship among the international economic system, national economies, and political institutions. Guest speakers and readings during 2007-08 will focus on two broad topics: the quality of democracy and the nature of political representation in the region; and political economy and social policy. These topics are at the top of the agenda for the future of Latin America because they portray the current challenges the countries in this region are facing as well as potential solutions for them.