Debating U.S.-Cuban Relations: Shall We Play Ball
Here we go again—yet another moment in history when the U.S.-Cuban relationship, frozen (more or less) since early 1961, could be lurching toward sanity. What makes this moment…
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Theme: Book Talk
Jobs for the Boys: The Politics of Public Sector Reform
Merilee Grindle begins her remarkable book with this lament from a 1913 edition of the Syracuse Herald. It’s a familiar refrain, especially to the international agencies pouring aid dollars into…
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Pecado Original: Clarín, los Kirchner y la lucha por el poder
Graciela Mochkofsky is a young Argentine journalist who has worked for two major newspapers in her country, authored several books, and is presently co…
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The Revolution in Venezuela: Social and Political Change under Chávez
Much of what is written about Venezuela since the election of Hugo Chávez in 1998 tends to be highly polarized, often based on “Manichaean” perceptions of developments in that country, according to one of the editors of this volume. At the extremes, Chávez is viewed as a social revolutionary dedicated to the service of the downtrodden in Latin America or as dictator who threatens regional democracy and security. …
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The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal
It was a question lingering for a century among most Panamanians and many Americans: was the Panama Canal good business for the Americans? There was a military-strategic gain but economically, did the money invested yield a good return as a commercial enterprise and if so, how profitable was it? Harvard Business School professor Noel Maurer and historian Carlos Yu reflect on the economics …
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