"This is a first-rate analysis of modern Brazilian politics. . . . As Mainwaring makes clear, both theoretically and through abundant empirical evidence, the incapacity of parties to act collectively is centrally connected to the issues of presidential power, federalism, political corruption, and the progressivity of social power."--John Carey, Washington University, St. Louis

Scott P. Mainwaring holds the Conley Chair of Government and is Director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Among his recent publications is Building Democratic Institutions: Party Systems in Latin America (co-editor, Stanford, 1995).