Sanchez-Sibonys important collection provides a comprehensive and penetrating analysis that looks beneath Guatemalas democratic surface and reveals the entrenched clout of various informal, collusive, and even criminal networks. By assessing Guatemalas main actors and institutions from broader theoretical perspectives, the volume takes a big step toward finally including this interesting country case in the comparative study of Latin American politics. Highly recommended! -- Kurt Weyland, University of Texas at Austin After more than two decades of elections, why does Guatemalan democracy remain shallow and ineffectual? This rich volume brings together a wide range of leading scholars to explore the roles of political culture, inequality, weak institutions, party instability, organized crime, and state capture, among other factors. Their analysis is both deeply contextual and comparative, drawing on general theories to better understand the Guatemalan case. This is a vital, sobering contribution that reminds us that so much of Guatemalan politics is characterized by continuity even at this hopeful moment of change. -- Noam Lupu, Vanderbilt University
