Book Reviews

Lievesley, Geraldine and Ludlam, Steve (eds.) (2009) Reclaiming Latin America: Exper-iments in Radical Social Democracy, Zed Books (London), vi + 263 pp. £18.99 pbk.

As the third wave of democracy reached Latin America’s shores, many hoped aloudthat the new developments would bring momentous change and open up societiesstill marred by a history of inequity and exclusion. To those who follow politicsin Latin America, the last few decades have provided room for hope and doubtthat such high aspirations can be met. Some, for instance, would point to the ‘pinktide’ as an illustration of the potential for change across the region. But, aside fromrhetoric, what has been the net result of this latest electoral shift to the left? Lievesleyand Ludlam’s edited volume, Reclaiming Latin America: Experiments in Radical SocialDemocracy, does a notable job of tackling a difficult and complex question in a thoroughfashion. Further, they succeed on several fronts, including providing a rich theoreticaltreatment of the modern left and detailed case studies to illustrate what the ‘pink tide’represents.

The editors disentangle the various shades of meaning behind the most recent moveleftward in the region. Specifically, they expose varying policy priorities across theregion and place them in their proper context. After all, it is evident that ‘leftist’policies are not created in a vacuum: they reflect the political context in which they areformulated. Thus, the ‘pink tide’ could be said to consist of many shades, with someleaders reflecting more conservative tendencies and the weight of their party histories(as is the case in Chile). The editors also do an excellent job of pointing out that theleftist tide does not necessarily represent a rejection of the basics of market economicsor democratic governance.

This work exhaustively explores the true meaning of Latin America’s modernleftist movements. They move beyond the Cold War definitions as well as relativelyrecent efforts to pigeonhole the region’s contribution to the political spectrum (seeCastaneda, 1994, among others). The editors cover the startling heterogeneity ofthe leftist movement in the region, some of the underlying rationale for its currentincarnations, all the while placing these movements into their proper context. As such,the theoretical contributions made by the editors is, by itself, a worthy addition to thebroader literature on the region.

The text then moves swiftly to cover important aspects of national and subnationalforces that make up key ‘pink tide’ nations. Specifically, the focus of the case studies ison the ALBA states (Alternative Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra America orBoliviarian Alternative for the Peoples of the Americas): Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua,and Cuba. These cases are buttressed by examinations of somewhat less ‘radical’ leftistadministrations in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. Thus, the editors and their

© 2011 The Authors. Bulletin of Latin American Research © 2011 Society for Latin American StudiesBulletin of Latin American Research Vol. 30, No. 3 373

Book Reviews

able contributors make a concerted effort to cover as much of the variation in the leftas possible.

It is important to highlight that the thoughtful addition of subnational politics is anoteworthy contribution to the discussion of the modern left in Latin America (see, forinstance, the contributions by Motta on Venezuela, Guarneros-Meza on Mexico, andBurton on Brazil). The introduction of political and economic decentralisation acrossthe region in the last twenty years has had non-trivial implications for the way in whichpolicy priorities and political campaigns are waged, regardless of the level of autonomysubnational governments maintain. The book addresses this important development inmany ways throughout the introductory chapters and the case studies. As a result, theanalysis provides a level of nuance that has been sorely underdeveloped in most treatisesof the modern left.

Indeed, the incorporation of national and subnational politics further underscoresthe care with which the authors approach the thorny issue of forging generalisableconclusions while still maintaining case-specific depth. In the end, it is this delicatebalancing act that is the key feat of this book. The contributing authors providesubstantial detail and in-depth knowledge to keep the interest of those familiar with theregion while drawing in those without any background in the area. Meanwhile, Lievesleyand Ludlam delicately weave those case specifics with strong theoretical treatment ofkey concepts, like populism social democracy and the like. This book represents animportant step towards gaining further leverage on the ever-changing politics of theregion. It is sure to serve a wide audience and provoke additional discussion and debateregarding the future of our neighbours to the south.

Erika MorenoCreighton University

Reference

Castaneda, J. (1994) Utopia Unarmed: The Latin American Left after the Cold War. VintagePress: New York.

© 2011 The Authors. Bulletin of Latin American Research © 2011 Society for Latin American Studies374 Bulletin of Latin American Research Vol. 30, No. 3