Marketing 322: Country Profiles

Transforming Brazil explores the complex web of policies, ideas, institutions, social forces, and political actors behind recent Brazilian reforms. By placing them in a broader analytical framework, it sets the backdrop for a better understanding of the character, timing, and sequencing of the reform process. The focus is on the complex reform efforts during the post-1985 democratization era. The introductory chapters place Brazilian reform in comparative perspective and explore theories and accounts of the political, social and institutional context in which the reforms took place, the political process leading up to reforms, and the actors that influenced them, including elites, business, government, institutions and interest groups. The analysis of stabilization and economic liberalization weaves in accounts of policies and of Fernando Henrique Cardoso¿s election as president in 1994 and his re-election in 1998. The detailed study of privatization, deregulation, trade liberalization and opening of the economy, state and administrative reform, agrarian reform, changes in social security system, fiscal reforms, and related reforms during the eight years of the Cardoso government show that they amount to a turning point in Brazilian politics, even if several reforms remain incomplete. The analysis also points to factors shaping the reform process and the relationship between the reforms and vulnerability to external financial crises and shocks. Transforming Brazil explores the rise and flux of a restructured industrial economy, with expanding service and agricultural sectors. It traces social and economic indicators from the 70¿s to present, highlighting spatial and social differences. The chapter on social policy and collective action traces the history of the labor and landless movements. More broadly, it sheds light on how civil society and collective action influence agrarian reform and other reform process.

Now in a thoroughly updated edition, this comprehensive and engaging text explores contemporary Mexico's political development and examines the most important policy issues facing Mexico in the twenty-first century. The first half of the book begins with a broad historical overview leading to the 1910 Revolution, the emergence of the modern Mexican political system, and the transition from single party rule to democracy. It includes a thorough discussion of government and party politics under the long-ruling PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party), and of two successive PAN (National Action Party) presidential administrations. The second half of the book analyzes the most pressing challenges confronting Mexican society today, including promoting economic development, reducing poverty and inequality, strengthening civil society, combating crime and violence, and bolstering relations with the United States. How these challenges are addressed will be crucial for Mexico as it looks to the 2012 presidential elections and beyond. The text to this revised edition is richly supplemented by new figures and tables that illustrate broad political, social, and economic trends, and boxes that provide in-depth treatment of a variety of subjects and concepts. Readers will find this widely praised book continues to be the most current and accessible work available on Mexico's politics and policy.

Polish independence following the end of World War I marked a new era for a nation which had endured centuries of foreign partition. But the spirit of Polish nationalism -- forged during this long period of external domination -- has been frequently at odds with the modernising drives of democracy and communism. How can the ideals of nationalism survive in a modern nation-state? Anita Prazmowska traces this conflict from the emergence of an independent Poland in 1918; through World WarII, communism and the democratic victories of Solidarity; to the present day, when Polish membership of the EU is changing perceptions both within Poland and in the wider world. Poland: A Modern History presents a vivid and accessible portrait of Poland's tumultuous history over the past century. It is a clear and concise introduction to a nation which, often at the epicentre of European political history, has nevertheless sometimes struggled to define its national identity.

With more than a billion citizens--almost 18 percent of the world's population--India is a reflection of over 5,000 years of interaction and exchange across a wide spectrum of cultures and civilizations. India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic describes the growth and development of the nation since it achieved independence from the British Raj in 1947. The two-volume work presents an analytical review of India's transition from fledgling state to the world's largest democracy and potential economic superpower. Providing current data and perspective backed by historical context as appropriate, the encyclopedia brings together the latest scholarship on India's diverse cultures, societies, religions, political cultures, and social and economic challenges. It covers such issues as foreign relations, security, and economic and political developments, helping readers understand India's people and appreciate the nation's importance as a political power and economic force, both regionally and globally.

Poised between Europe and Asia, Turkey occupies a vital and unique strategic position in the world. A major trading partner with Europe, Turkey has become an influential player in the Middle East (sharing substantial borders with Iran, Iraq, and Syria), as well as a hub tor the Caucasus, the Balkans, and Central Asia, making it a key East-West conduit for the region's oil and gas. This predominantly Muslim country also possesses one of the world's fastest growing economies, with Istanbul alone having a GDP greater than Hungary. In Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know, veteran journalist and commentator Andrew Finkel takes on the critical questions facing this rising powerhouse, expertly covering such sensitive issues as the country's Large Kurdish population, reconciliation with Armenia, and its guardianship over a nearly matchless natural and archeological heritage. Finkel unravels Turkey's contemporary complexities, from its domestic economic and cultural policies to its freighted relationship with Israel and Washington, setting them against the historical background of the Ottoman Empire, the secular nationalist revolution led by Kemal Ataturk, and the country's dramatic, even dizzying, post-war transformation. What happens in Turkey has consequences worldwide. Turkey's application to be part of the EU challenges the notion of European identity, and its transition to multiparty politics offers a precedent for the Arab spring. But Turks themselves question the quality of their own democracy, and, as Finkel reveals, the country's new self-confidence and its status as a geopolitical pivot carry the potential either to propel the country forward or into isolation. Finkel illuminates the past and present of this unique, and uniquely consequential, country. Book jacket.