Friday, January 24 2025, 3 - 4:30pm MLC 214 Dr. Kent Eaton Politics Department University of California Santa Cruz In recent years, an important literature has emerged on the phenomenon of subnational undemocratic regimes (SURs) in Latin America. Scholars have inquired into the origins of these regimes, their evolution over time, and their ability to persist within countries whose national political regimes have successfully democratized. Thinking across the Americas, what can this scholarship tell us about the subnational democratic erosion that is occurring unevenly across the United States? Based on a review of five key dimensions, this paper (co-authored with Agustina Giraudy) argues that the institutional landscape for the emergence and continuity of SURs is, comparatively speaking, more favorable in the U.S. than in any of Latin America’s three federations (Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico). This talk is co-sponsored by: Willson Center for Humanities & Arts; Department of International Affairs; and Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute. Speaker Bio Kent Eaton is a Distinguished Professor of Politics in the Politics Department at the University of California Santa Cruz. His research examines the interplay between politics and territory, focusing on the territorial (re)organization of states in the world today. Prof. Eaton's current projects include the design and performance of federal institutions, the causes and consequences of decentralization, and the formation and evolution of movements for territorial autonomy. For more than 30 years he has conducted field research across Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay.
