Undoing Democracy: The Politics of Electoral Caudillismo

In an effort to understand how and why democratically elected governments evade the limitations that democratic accountability and popular participation place on them, Undoing Democracy examines how democratic rule was undermined in Nicaragua in the 1990's. David Close and Kalowatie Deonandan focus their analysis on the pact struck between the country's two main parties, the Liberals and the Sandinistas, which allowed the passage of the constitutional amendments that weakened Nicaragua's basic political institutions. The authors also consider, in detail, the country's political economy as well as the roles played by civil society, the Catholic Church, and NGOs. Undoing Democracy will sharpen our understanding of democratic transition and consolidation, and will serve as an important contribution to the literature on Nicaragua, Latin American politics, and democratization.

About the Author

David Close is professor of political science at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Kalowatie Deonandan is associate professor of political science and director of the International Studies Program of the University of Saskatchewan. David H. Dye is professor of archaeology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Memphis. Katherine Hoyt holds a Ph.D. in Political Theory from Rutgers University and is the author of The Many Faces of Sandinista Democracy.