Fighting monsters in the abyss : the second administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez, 2006-2010 /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Kline, Harvey F.
Imprint:Tuscaloosa, AL : The University of Alabama Press, [2015]
Description:1 online resource
Language:English
Subject:
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12588567
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9780817388843
0817388842
9780817318802
0817318801
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Print version record.
Summary:"Fighting Monsters in the Abyss studies the complex constraints and trade-offs the second administration of Colombian President Uribe (2006-2010) encountered as it attempted to resolve that nation's violent Marxist insurrection and to have a more efficient judicial system"--Provided by publisher.
Other form:Print version: Kline, Harvey F. Fighting monsters in the abyss. Tuscaloosa, AL : The University of Alabama Press, [2015] 0817318801 9780817318802
Review by Choice Review

This is the fourth book on contemporary Colombia and its endemic violence by country expert Kline (Alabama). It covers the second term of conservative president Álvaro Uribe, a dominating and controversial politician. The book assesses the Uribe administration on two levels: narrowly in terms of specific policies fighting revolutionary and paramilitary groups and broadly in terms of state building in a country that throughout its history has had problems with state control and geographic penetration. Vital conceptual and historical context is provided, including Uribe's first term and, in the epilogue, the presidency of his successor, Juan Manuel Santos. The book provides particular focus on the issues of executive-judicial conflict, the rule of law, and government scandals involving violations of human rights and is based on careful, thorough research, including three dozen interviews in Bogotá and Washington, DC. Overall, the book is impressive in its detail and insights and provides a truly balanced assessment of the successes and failures of Uribe's second term. It is important for scholars and students of Latin America and, more generally, those interested in the challenges of state building and combating insurrections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Alan Siaroff, The University of Lethbridge

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review