With the role of local government becoming more important as Latin American countries moved away from state-led development models in the 1980s, and with social movements helping to bring about the transition to democracy, questions arose about whether and how popular participation at the local level might be able to contribute to the consolidation of democracy from the grassroots upward. This book, based on extensive research in low-income districts of Lima, provides a sophisticated analysis of the relationship between a resurgent civil society and democratization.

Exploring the complex interactions among urban popular movements, local government, political parties, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Schonwalder shows that the democratic potential of these movements is genuine but that their influence has been limited. His balanced assessment credits their achievements while illuminating the sources of their failures, mainly a variety of institutional barriers and a persistent threat of manipulation and co-optation by stronger actors, especially political parties. His analysis helps us understand better why the left has so often failed to convert its considerable support at the grassroots into political successes at higher levels.

Globalization is lauded by some as a tool for spreading peace and prosperity, and decried by others as a harbinger of conflict and war. This book challenges both views. Narrowing down globalization to the more manageable notion of neoliberalism, "Economic Liberalization and Political Violence" studies the effect of neoliberalism on violent conflict and war-making. The sophisticated analysis includes statistical work and a set of qualitative case studies from Latin America (Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, and Guatemala) and sub-Saharan Africa (Cote d'Ivoire, Sudan, and Uganda). The findings demonstrate that the shift to neoliberal policies has produced widely diverging outcomes in different contexts. An invaluable source for students of political economy, development studies and international relations this book shows that neoliberalism can help to end violent conflict as well as bringing about new, criminal forms of violence.