Literary salon with David and Ruth Collier (Berkeley)

Shaping the political arena is a landmark contribution to the literature on political regimes and the legalisation and institutionalisation of labour movements. It is a broadly comparative historical analysis of eight Latin American countries and the historical roots of different forms of labour mobilisation, their interaction with different forms of state control.

 In addition to the substantive findings, the book is a model for how to apply qualitative research methods for the comparative study of political phenomena. The book has inspired countless researchers to study the dynamics of political change via identifying critical junctures and path dependence, and tracing causal processes over time. The book's broad comparative scope allows the authors to analyse the political differences in how labour movements were incorporated into the political arena and the effects that these historical legacies had for subsequent regime change in Latin America.

All are welcome!