Ryan E. Carlin, Matthew M. Singer, and Elizabeth J. Zechmeister (eds.) (2015). The Latin American Voter: Pursuing Representation and Accountability in Challenging Contexts

Abstract

The Latin American Voter, edited by Carlin, Singer and Zechmeister, is a much welcomed addition to the study of politics in the region, especially contributing to the literature on comparative electoral behavior which is relatively scarce but altogether growing across different areas within the field. The book is a compilation of essays by top scholars divided into four parts analyzing the characteristics of the average Latin American voter not only in terms of gender, ethnicity and religion but also explaining the way electors respond to clientelism, partisanship and the influence of left-right identifications. The final part discusses the different ways in which the voters hold their leaders accountable based on their perception of government performance in areas such as corruption, crime and economic achievement. Overall, this volume is quite significant regarding the amount of information and perspectives used to define, describe and evaluate Latin Americans as regular voters.