Vanderbilt University’s Centennial Professor of Political Science Mitchell Seligson will speak today about his recent research.
The lecture, titled “Perceptions of Democracy in Mexico, Central America and Colombia,” will begin at 3:30 p.m. in 1210 McClung Tower.
Seligson is the founder and director of the Latin American Public Opinion Project. This group studies different aspects of democracy such as political tolerance, support for the system and people’s experience with victimization and corruption.
Last year the group issued a survey in 11 Latin American countries, and Seligson will share some of the key results of the survey.
“(Students) will gain an understanding of what our project is all about, mainly why we’re studying Latin Americans and its relevance to political science and Latin Americanists generally, as well as U.S. foreign policy in Latin America,” he said. “Second, I think they’ll get a better perspective on what values are important for countries that want to become, or remain, democratic.”
The event will give attendees the opportunity to learn much about the countries involved, Jana Morgan Kelly, assistant professor of political science, said.
“It will help you learn about the countries themselves and some of the challenges the countries face,” she said. “(The countries) that he’ll be talking about, with the possible exception of Colombia, have just in the past two decades made transitions from being authoritarian countries … toward having elections and having democracy.
“You can learn about what advances have been made since those transitions and how to potentially increase the probability that democracy will persist in those countries that have made transitions.”
The United States Agency for International Development funds these studies, Seligson said.
“USAID has been very active for over 15 years in trying to promote democracy around the world in the developing countries,” he said. “They use my research in a variety of ways.
“First, they need to know which countries have populations that are more committed to democracies and which countries have weaker commitments. Then, within a country, they need to know which groups are more committed or less committed … who participates more or less.”
