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This module provides a first approximation to the study of Latin American politics, encompassing a wide range of topics in international relations and comparative politics. Besides providing a survey of main political science debates, the module requires students to conduct independent research. It is therefore important that students willing to join this module have knowledge of research design and statistics which are required for the assignments.

The module follows a chronological ordering of topics to answer questions such as (1) How did colonial history shape politics in the region? (2) How did current national states form and consolidate? (3) How did political regimes and political parties evolve in two centuries of independent history? (4) Why is Latin America, simultaneously the most peaceful region considering international violence, and the most violent at the domestic level? (5) Which are the main challenges to political stability, economic growth, and development in the region? The spirit of the course is to identify how Latin America can contribute to broader theories as well.

The module is divided into three parts. The first section looks at colonial institutions and state formation during the nineteenth century. This section will also cover the main causes of domestic and inter-state conflict in that era, and the origins of political parties. The second section will look at the twentieth century and focus on the role of the US in the region, democracy and autocracy, populism, civil-military relations, and the political economy of import substitution industrialisation, among other topics critical to the understanding of that era. Finally, a third section will cover more contemporary debates on competitive authoritarianism, criminal violence, protest, and the crisis of the neoliberal economic model, all of which are critical to understand Latin America in the twenty-first century.