Pitting opposition activists' post-electoral conflicts against their usage of regime-constructed electoral courts, this study of Mexico's gradual transition to democracy addresses the puzzle of why its opposition parties failed to use these autonomous courts. The electoral courts were established to mitigate Mexico's often violent post-electoral disputes at key moments of the country's 27-year democratic transition, and had formal guarantees of court independence from the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI).

Pitting opposition activists' post-electoral conflicts against their usage of regime-constructed electoral courts, this study of Mexico's gradual transition to democracy addresses the puzzle of why its opposition parties failed to use these autonomous courts. The electoral courts were established to mitigate Mexico's often violent post-electoral disputes at key moments of the country's 27-year democratic transition, and had formal guarantees of court independence from the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI).

Drawing on an original survey of more than 5,000 respondents, this book argues that, contrary to claims by the 1994 Zapatista insurgency, indigenous and non-indigenous respondents in southern Mexico have been united by socioeconomic conditions and land tenure institutions as well as by ethnic identity. It concludes that contrary to many analyses of Chiapas's 1994 indigenous rebellion external influences can trump ideology in framing social movements. Rural Chiapas's prevalent communitarian attitudes resulted partly from external land tenure institutions, rather than from indigenous identities...

Latin America's Multicultural Movements is a collection of empirically-based chapters that advance debates over the struggle between communitarianism, autonomy, and human rights. Assembling some of the most eminent scholars of Latin America, it presents an impressive range of views on multiculturalism. In doing so it moves beyond ideology and invites readers to explore how multicultural reforms affect people in their everyday lives, as well as in political parties, elected offices, and interest groups. It examines multicultural rights recognition in theory and in practice,...

Latin America's Multicultural Movements is a collection of empirically-based chapters that advance debates over the struggle between communitarianism, autonomy, and human rights. Assembling some of the most eminent scholars of Latin America, it presents an impressive range of views on multiculturalism. In doing so it moves beyond ideology and invites readers to explore how multicultural reforms affect people in their everyday lives, as well as in political parties, elected offices, and interest groups. It examines multicultural rights recognition in theory and in practice,...

Drawing on an original survey of more than 5,000 respondents, this book argues that, contrary to claims by the 1994 Zapatista insurgency, indigenous and non-indigenous respondents in southern Mexico have been united by socioeconomic conditions and land tenure institutions as well as by ethnic identity. It concludes that contrary to many analyses of Chiapas's 1994 indigenous rebellion external influences can trump ideology in framing social movements. Rural Chiapas's prevalent communitarian attitudes resulted partly from external land tenure institutions, rather than from indigenous identities...

When building democracy through new constitutions, the level of participation matters more than the content of the constitution itself. This book examines this theory.