Observers often take institutional weakness as an exogenous feature of the landscape, decrying the many ways in which weak institutions get in the way of accomplishing various political agendas. In the book "The Politics of Institutional Weakness in Latin America, these three scholars turn the tables, showing the ways in which institutional weakness is itself a political strategy. Their analysis draws on the contributions of chapters covering an array of formal institutions, from constitutions and electoral rules, to labor laws and indigenous rights regimes. In this presentation, we will hear from the editors and from the authors of chapters on rules pertaining to gender violence, street-vending and squatting, and environmental and labor standards.

Speakers:

• Mala Htun, University of New Mexico;
• Eduardo Dargent, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru;
• Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, University of Notre Dame;
• Alisha Holland, Harvard University;
• Daniel Brinks, University of Texas - Austin;
• Steven Levitsky, Harvard University;
• Vicky Murillo, Columbia University

Moderator: Javier Auyero, University of Texas - Austin

Co-sponsored by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University and the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin.