Gustafson, Lowell S.

Dr. Lowell S. Gustafson is Professor of Political Science at Villanova University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He is the author of numerous articles, chapters, and books, including The Sovereignty Dispute over the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands, The Religious Challenge to the State (co-edited with Matthew Moen), Economic Development under Democratic Regimes: Neoliberalism in Latin America, and Ancient Maya Gender Identity and Relations (co-edited with Amelia Trevelyan).

Economic Performance Under Democratic Regimes in Latin America in the Twenty-First Century

2003 0-7734-6584-7
These essays explain and evaluate the experience of democracy in recent years, considering the historical, economic, cultural, and social factors that aided its re-emergence, as well as the continued poverty and inequality in the region that challenge it.

National and Human Security Issues in Latin America

2006 0-7734-5765-8
In this book, an international group of distinguished scholars analyze how Latin Americans are struggling with the question of how they can provide for their security while they govern themselves. They explain Latin Americans’ complex definitions of security and current threats to it. Various external forces – from Al Qaeda and the International Monetary Fund to certain policies of the United States government – threaten Latin Americans’ autonomy.

Economic and political elites may restrict popular self-government, sometimes by promising to provide for security at the cost of liberty. The lives, property, and well-being of Latin American peoples often remain in the balance. The authors show how Latin American nations, individuals, and peoples are seeking to make themselves more secure through their democracies. They consider how Latin Americans are asserting their democratic rights and seeking to deepen the practices of freedom during the current domestic transitions and the war on terror. They judge the prospects for the success of Latin American democracies meeting the severe threats to the region’s security. Given Latin American political history and contemporary insecurities, the chapters demonstrate why the future of these democracies is at risk.