Civil Society and Democratic Politics in the Dominican Republic

Prof. Rosario Espinal
Professor of Sociology; Director of the Latin American Studies Center
Temple University

Prof. Espinal will talk about the growing role of civil society organizations in Dominican politics since the early 1990s. Issues to be addressed include the heterogeneity of civic organizations, the tensions between them and political parties, and the role of international assistance in support of civil society. Using national survey data, Prof. Espinal will also discuss attitudes toward democracy and its institutions and how factors such as government performance and social capital shape these attitudes.

Rosario Espinal has published extensively on Dominican politics and society. She is the author of the book Autoritarismo y Democracia en la Política Dominicana (1987, 1994), co-editor of the book La República Dominicana en el Umbral del Siglo XXI: Cultura, Política y Cambio Social (1999), and author of more than 50 articles published in academic journals and books in English, Spanish and French. She has been a fellow at the Swedish Institute for Social Research at the University of Stockholm, at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and at the Latin American Studies Center at Oxford University. She has been a Fulbright Fellow to Argentina, Peru and Brazil, and is a member of the Executive Council of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA).

When: Wednesday, April 30 at 5:00pm
Where: Room C204 (Concourse Level)
The Graduate Center
City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue (@ 34th Street)

To reserve please send e-mail to bildner@gc.cuny.edu or leave message at (212) 817-2096.