ABSTRACT
Since the 1980s Latin America and the Caribbean have been undergoing a process of democratization. The military regimes installed during die 1960s and 1970s, having failed to fulfill their promises of economic and social prosperity, have been replaced by civilian ones. The models of development that the military employed excluded the vast majority of the population from political participation. It remains to be seen whether the newly elected civilian regimes will alter this situation. The extent to which democratization can be expected depends on the general patterns of state formation in the region.
