Makers of Democracy

"This historicization of the relationship between middle classness and democracy enables the author to deliver a potent critique of prevailing narratives of Latin America as undemocratic, while reimagining the way we think about democracy itself." -- B. A. Lucero * Choice *
"[Makers of Democracy] is [a] must-read book for those who want to understand how power relations were configured in the third quarter of the 20th century in Colombia. It makes us question something that is sacred to most of us: democracy. After its thorough historization, [this book] exposes the contradictions of democracy…  it finishes with a rather dark and challenging vision of what democracy means." (Translated from Spanish) -- Catalina Muñoz Rojas * Historia Critica *
"On the one hand, this books rescues from historical oblivion not only the existence of the middle classes but also their importance. It discusses the middle classes and their connection —for better or for worse— with democracy and development… On the other, it highlights the active role in which the middle classes…radicalized themselves against the [developmentalist] imperatives coming from a Global capitalist north. In this way, we find a new reading of the 'invention of development' … during the 1960s and 1970s. At the core of this historiographical originality, [this book] also proposes a methodological approach that highlights the discourses and practices that shaped certain men and women and their efforts to be part of a middle class in Bogotá. We hope this book will soon be translated into Spanish, so that more readers can get familiarized with these transnational stories, uncommon methodological approaches in [Colombian] historiography." (Translated from Spanish)
  -- Mauricio Archila Neira * Anuario Colombiano de Historia Social y de la Cultura *
“In Makers of Democracy, A. Ricardo López-Pedreros offers a multidimensional approach to the disputed processes through which particular social actors came to represent the middle classes and the promises of democracy…. This book is a key contribution to the contemporary history of the middle classes, democracy, and processes of political polarization.” -- Ingrid Bolivar * Hispanic American Historical Review *
“Makers of Democracy is an important contribution to twentieth-century Colombian and Latin American history. For specialists of Colombia, it offers a novel interpretation of the conflicts of the 1960s and 1970s, including the role of gender in class formation and political struggle. It will also appeal to a broader audience interested in histories of democracy, class, gender, and US empire in Latin America and the global South.” -- Laura Correa Ochoa * H-Nationalism, H-Net Reviews *