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The process of ratifying CAFTA in Costa Rica required traversing a contentious political landscape involving intense legislative battles, massive public demonstrations, and finally a national referendum in October 2007. By employing the mechanism of direct democracy to ratify a free trade agreement, Costa Rica made history. But how did this experiment with direct participation affect Costa Rica's democracy? This article evaluates what the referendum achieved in terms of promoting citizen engagement, equipping voters to make informed choices, resolving the CAFTA conflict in a way viewed as legitimate, and shaping citizens' relationships to representative institutions. While the referendum had positive effects, it had several negative consequences for representative democracy, which raises questions about the limits of democratic control over economic policy in the era of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looks at the decentralization of government in Latin America. Empirical patterns of decentralization in Latin America; Political economy of centralization; Power of subnational politicians.

Assesses competing explanations of the independence from political and economic elites achieved by Brazil's Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico (BNDE) during the 1950s. Sources of bureaucratic independence; Comissao Mista Brasil-Estados Unidos de Desenvolvimento Economico (CMBEU); Control over personnel recruitment; Allocation of loans; Domestic funding sources.

For the past fourteen years, two Grinnell College graduates have been selected each year for a competitive one-year Grinnell Corps Service Fellowship at the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre in Namibia. A recent survey of the 28 Fellows that completed the program revealed that this is an invaluable experience for the participants, with more than half revealing that it was “life-changing” and a further 43% reporting that it re-affirmed their life goals. Most Fellows felt that their most valuable contribution to Gobabeb was teaching and mentoring Namibian secondary and tertiary students. All Fellows are now either in graduate school or employed in a diverse array of positions reflecting their professional interests that in some fashion “support the common good”, an integral part of Grinnell's mission statement. Synergistic activities that have arisen from this Grinnell–Gobabeb relationship include visiting lecturer opportunities at Grinnell for Namibians; internships for Grinnell students and service fellowships for Grinnell faculty in Namibia; a faculty development seminar in Namibia resulting in more class modules on dryland and southern African topics; a course with embedded travel to the Namib Desert; and independent research projects for students. These exchanges are invaluable for cultivating the cross-cultural understanding needed to address the vexing global environmental challenges of this century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]