Charting a New Course: The Politics of Globalization and Social Transformation by FernandoHenrique Cardoso; Mauricio A. FontReview by: Kenneth MaxwellForeign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 2 (Mar. - Apr., 2002), p. 190Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20033125 .

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Recent Books

regulation. Teichman's conclusions are especially pertinent now, in light of the IMF's and the World Bank's major roles in

backing the policies that led to the recent turmoil in Argentina. In an appendix, she even lists the names of the World Bank officials who worked there between 1985 and 1995. They may be less than happy to see this list today.

Charting a New Course: The Politics of Globalization and Social Transformation. BY FERNANDO HENRIQUE CARDOSO,

EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY

MAURICIO A. FONT. Lanham:

Rowman & Littlefield, 2001, 352 pp.

$95.00 (paper, $34.95). Appearances aside, this book is not a panegyric but a useful account of the remarkable academic and political career of Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Font has brought together key documents covering almost 30 years, beginning with Cardoso's academic work, then his political statements as a senator and government minister, and finally his presidential speeches. Early texts cover slavery and race, dependency and eco nomic development in Latin America and beyond, authoritarianism, and the process of democratization. Later political texts include Cardoso's telling criticism of Brazil's 1998 constitution, which he helped draft but later viewed as deeply flawed: the constitution created a president

who "rises like a Caesar, a national savior," he wrote, but one who also lacks a stable majority in congress. Cardoso concludes by quoting the writer Octavio Paz, who described politics not as a science but rather "a wager against the unpre dictable." This fusion of a strong belief in scientifically based academic analysis

with political malleability is one of the most fascinating aspects of Cardoso's performance as president.

Regional Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean. EDITED BY VICTOR

BULMER-THOMAS. Washington:

Brookings Institution Press, 2001, 322 pp. $19.95 (paper).

In this timely and comprehensive overview, Bulmer-Thomas has brought together distinguished experts to examine

Latin America's shift away from the "old regionalism" of import substitution, limited inter-regional economic contacts, and high tariffs. After the debt crisis of the 1980s, they write, a "new regionalism"

was necessary to integrate Latin American countries fully into the global trade system. This push began with the liberalization of tariffs, capital flows, and goods and services, achieving a substantial rise in foreign direct investment in the region.

The role of the World Trade Organization in settling trade confficts and the growing importance of intellectual property rights in new "knowledge-based" economies are also discussed. Optimism aside, the authors also point out that the region has only just begun to deal with the more sensitive elements of globalization's impact-especially labor flows and envi ronmental concerns. They also touch on how the U.S. interest in open regionalism became fortified after the 1980s, leading ultimately to the North American Free Trade Agreement and the more recent talk of a Free Trade Area of the Americas. In sum, the cost of this new regionalism has been modest while the potential benefits remain significant. Regardless of the difficulties in individual countries, they write, Latin America will continue

[190] FOREIGN AFFAIRS* Volume81 No.2

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