Nine of the 12 sections of Latin America's Radical Left, edited by Ellner are revised articles from the May 2013 issue of Latin American Perspectives. Ellner summarizes each section to make the material classroom friendly. The overall intellectual framework comes from Jorge Castañeda's distinction between a 'good' and 'bad' Left in Latin America. Castañeda argued that the 'good' Left was exemplified by the democratic and economically responsible governments of Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil, led by reformed communists and Marxists. Populists such as Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, and Andrés Manuel López-Obrador in Mexico represented the 'bad' Left. Several authors of articles in this book identify with Castañeda's 'bad' Left to the extent that it represents popular movements in each country. . . .Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and professional collections.

Choice Reviews

An engaging and pertinent read for those within Latin American Studies and beyond. . . .Unlike previous work on the left, the authors move beyond the stagnant ‘two lefts’ thesis and instead provide a more nuanced discussion on the left in the region. . . .This book fills the gap by providing a comprehensive discussion on Latin America’s radical left which is accompanied by strong theoretical underpinnings on the complexities of this left and substantiated by in-depth case studies of the radical left in power across the region. . . . Regardless of your position on the radical left, this book is important because it steers away the stale good-bad debate and moves towards more substantive questions about governance, equality, diversity and democracy under radical left in the region.

E-International Relations

Convinced that we cannot change the world by ignoring the issue of power, the authors focus their attention on the trials and errors of Latin American leaders elected in the 2000s.

Le Monde Diplomatique

At once challenging, complicated, fascinating, and useful to any Latin Americanist interested in today’s (and tomorrow’s) events.

Latin American Perspectives

Aimed primarily at university students, this collection of essays analyses the phenomenon
of what the authors call the 'radical democratic Latin American Left in power'. . . .The book offers some useful and varied insights into the complex dynamics of a rapidly-changing region. . . .by focusing on the challenges faced by current leftist regimes in Latin America, the book provides a valuable opportunity to look beyond the experiences of individual countries at the broader social, economic and political forces at play in the region. . . .Rather than merely critiquing gaps between state discourse and practice, as some accounts do, the book highlights the structural factors that condition the trajectories of leftist governments. . . .All in all, readers of this book will gain a sense of the complex political, economic and socio-cultural realities of contemporary Latin America, as well as the dilemmas and challenges faced by the region’s leftist governments.

Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography

Steve Ellner’s, Latin America’s Radical Left: Challenges and Complexities of Political Power in the Twenty-first Century, is an engaging and pertinent read for those within Latin American Studies and beyond. The book discusses all the central themes which we might expect from a book on the radical left including social revolution, social movement mobilisation and radical redistributive policy. However unlike previous work on the left, the authors move beyond the stagnant ‘two lefts’ thesis and instead provide a more nuanced discussion on the left in the region. . . .Ellner has compiled an impressive array of established and burgeoning scholars as contributors. . . .Ultimately, this is a highly engaging book and an enjoyable to read. For instance, the authors themselves often engage with contentions made by their fellow contributors, thus giving the impression that the debate is actively occurring in real-time and at your fingertips. Regardless of your position on the ‘two lefts’ thesis you are likely to find yourself commenting aloud, underlining passages and tabbing particular pages as you participate in the active discussion flowing throughout the book.

E-International Relations