Latin American Political Thought in the 1800s: Ideas, Identity, and Institutions

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Latin American political thought and constitutionalism are rarely studied on their own terms in the United States, and their contributions to the larger stream of Western political thought are overlooked. Struggling to reconcile order and liberty, independence and post-independence Latin American thinkers produced a distinct body of political thinking that tried to creatively reconcile European ideas with its unique local circumstances, marked by political and racial heterogeneity. Key statesmen, intellectuals, and philosophers grappled with Enlightenment ideas in an attempt to develop stable and independent institutions after the separation from the imperial metropoles. This makes Latin American constitutionalism and political thought a rich and underexplored field for comparative political thought. Therefore, this panel will look at the influence of European ideas in 19th-century Latin America and how those ideas affected decisive political events such as Independence, the Abolition of Slavery, and the attempt to create a Pan-Latin American identity and institutions.

Sub Unit

• Partner Associations / Eric Voegelin Society

Individual Presentations

• Juan-Jacobo’s Paradox: Discourse on the Arts and Sciences in Spanish America - Nayeli Leandra Riano, Georgetown University

• Hegemonic Courtship: Latin American Republics and the Panama Congress - Alejandro Castrillon, University of Notre Dame; Jeremy Graham, National Defense University

• Liberalism between Spain and America: The Political Thought of Andrés Bello - Brendon Westler, St. Olaf College

• The Political Thought of Joaquim Nabuco and the Abolition of Slavery in Brazil - Eduardo Schmidt Passos, Arizona State University

Chair

• Eduardo Schmidt Passos Arizona State University

Discussants

• Luke Foster Hillsdale College

• Gustavo A. Santos The Catholic University of America