How can we better understand the functioning of institutions? An unorthodox approach

Abstract

An exceptionally versatile book has been published by one of the most respected research communities specializing in Latin American research. The book provides a complete panorama of the latest findings in research on the institutional system. In addition to a completely new conceptual and theoretical approach, it reinforces the authors’ assumptions with a wide range of empirical research that focuses on the most relevant topics of Latin American reality, mainly in the political and the economic fields while also revealing the complex interconnectedness and interaction of different aspects. Through the combined arc of case studies it becomes evident how inextricably intertwined these areas are, how the results of political decision-making mechanisms impact different fields of economic life or certain groups in the society. The editors of the volume, namely Daniel M. Brinks (University of Texas at Austin), Steven Levitsky (Harvard University), and María Victoria Murillo (Columbia University) and the contributing authors (sixteen altogether) provide one of the most significant and extensive analyses of the functioning mechanisms of the Latin American institutional system in recent years.