Olivia DrakeOctober 3, 20113min
James McGuire's recent book Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America (Cambridge University Press, 2010) was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2010 and won the 2011 Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research. McGuire is professor and chair in the Department of Government and a member of the Latin American Studies Program at Wesleyan. The Stein Rokkan Prize is awarded annually by the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), and the University of Bergen (Norway), in memory of Professor Stein Rokkan, who was an eminent social scientist at the…

Eric GershonFebruary 14, 20111min
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs has presented its annual award for best doctoral thesis on Mexican foreign relations to Amelia Kiddle, the Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow in Latin American Studies at Wesleyan’s Center for the Americas. Kiddle is the first winner to have completed her doctorate outside Mexico.  The prize is worth about $8,000 and includes a commitment to publish the Spanish-language version of her dissertation, “La Política del Buen Amigo: Mexican–Latin American Relations during the Presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas, 1934-1940.” Kiddle, now in the first year of her two-year fellowship, (more…)

Olivia DrakeNovember 5, 20102min
James McGuire, professor of government, professor of Latin American studies, is the author of Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America published by Cambridge University Press, 2010. Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America finds that the public provision of basic health care and other inexpensive social services has reduced mortality rapidly even in tough economic circumstances, and that political democracy has contributed to the provision and utilization of such social services, in a wider range of ways than is sometimes recognized. These conclusions are based on case studies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa…

Olivia DrakeApril 6, 20102min
James McGuire, professor of government, professor of Latin American studies, is the author of the book, Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America, published by Cambridge University Press, 2010. Why do some societies fare well, and others poorly, at reducing the risk of early death? Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America examines this question and finds that the public provision of basic health care and other inexpensive social services has reduced mortality rapidly even in tough economic circumstances, and that political democracy has contributed to the provision and utilization of such social services,…