Charles D. Kenney is assistant professor of comparative and Latin American politics at the University of Oklahoma.
"Charles Kenney's book is an important contribution to an emergent
body of work analyzing the Fujimori years in Peru. . . Kenny
provides a glimpse into the years leading up to Fujimori's 1992
autogolpe, both explaining the event and discussing its
consequences for democratic governance in Peru." —Latin American
Politics and Society
"This is the best book in English or Spanish on Alberto Fujimori's
rise to the Peruvian presidency and his turn to authoritarianism.
The book is theoretically engaged, driven by a keen intellect, and
well written. I found Kenney's comparative analysis to be the
richest and most insightful treatment of the topic in the
literature." —The Americas
"This book is invaluable in many ways. Most obviously, it is the
definitive analysis of Fujimori's coup. but it also provides a
useful political history of Peru through 1992. More generally, it
assesses and speaks to various key issues of comparative politics:
the effects of weak party-system institutionalisation, the
comparative powers of presidencies, both constitutional and
partisan, and the causes of democratic breakdowns. It is thus a
must-read for all those interested in any of these topics."
—Political Studies Review
". . . This is the most comprehensive study of the controversial
Fujimori presidency in Peru (1999-2000) and its many ramifications.
This genuine academic study includes 46 pages of detailed notes and
15 pages of works cited. There is a superb index, and charts
enhance the book. Highly recommended." —Choice
“Charles Kenney's book, Fujimori's Coup and the Breakdown of
Democracy in Latin America, exemplifies the value of this kind of
study. Few recent works provide such an extensive, detailed account
of political developments during the Fujimori presidency. The
strength of Kenney's book lies in its extraordinary amount of
original data and research. Students of Peru will find the chapters
of detailed chronology extremely useful. As scholars, we can
facilitate movement toward democratic development through
systematic research such as that achieved by… Kenney.” —Latin
American Research Review
“In this book on Peruvian politics, Charles Kenney leaves few
stones unturned in analyzing the various factors that led to the
suspension of the country's constitution . . . Kenney's analysis of
the complex cluster of factors that contributed to the unraveling
of Peru's political parties in the late 1980s is both sophisticated
and convincing . . . Kenney has readily accomplished the goals he
sets forth at the outset . . .” —Perspectives on Politics
“Given the ongoing challenges to democratic consolidation in Latin
America, Kenney's focus on Alberto Fujimori's 1992 autogolpe
(self-coup) in Peru is both timely and instructive . . . One of the
strengths of Kenney's analysis is his careful consideration of
multiple and competing explanations for the collapse of Peru's
party system . . . The strengths and contributions of this volume
are multiple. Kenney seamlessly weaves his quantitative data with
interviews and secondary sources to produce a clear and engaging
narrative . . . Kenney's exceptional study serves as an instructive
and cautionary tale for policy makers, academics, and students
interested in the comparative study of democratic consolidation.”
—Comparative Political Studies
“Kenney explores the causes of democratic breakdown in April of
1992 . . . [and] states that '[t]he central argument of this book
is that institutional factors—especially the president's lack of a
legislative majority—played a crucial role in the breakdown of
democracy both in Peru in 1992 and throughout Latin America over
the past forty years ' (p. 3). . . . Kenney aptly describes the
political impasse that developed as a consequence of Fujimori's
inability to secure a parliamentary majority in the 1990 elections.
He describes the showdown between an increasingly hostile Congress
and a president apparently convinced that his job was in jeopardy.
. . . In addition to the central theme of democratic breakdown,
Kenney tackles additional issues of interest to Peruvianists, such
as the collapse of the party system (chapter three), the powers of
the Peruvian presidency (chapter four), and the competing
interpretations of the 1992 autogolpe (chapter seven).” —Journal of
Latin American Studies
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