About the Book
The economic, political and social situation in Chile shows a country in transition. Some observers anticipate a broad “reboot” of the nation. While Chile is still seen by many as an example of progress in South America and of developmental potential in the global South, it faces a complex political constellation, particularly in the aftermath of the re-election of Michelle Bachelet. Many wonder how social and institutional innovations can be incepted without interrupting the country’s remarkable success over the past decades.
This book provides an interdisciplinary analysis of Chile’s situation and perspectives. In particular, it addresses the questions:
What is Chile’s real socio-political situation behind the curtains, irrespective of simplifications?
What are the nation’s main opportunities and problems?
What future strategies will be concretely applicable to improve social balance and mitigate ideological divisions?
The result is aprovocative examination of a nation in search of identity and its role on the global stage.
Roland Benedikter, Dr. Dr. Dr., is Research Scholar at the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Senior Research Scholar of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs Washington D.C., Trustee of the Toynbee Prize Foundation Boston and Full Member of the Club of Rome.
Katja Siepmann, MA, is Senior Research Fellow of the Counc
il on Hemispheric Affairs Washington D.C., Member of the German Council on Foreign Relations, and Lecturer at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Cultural Sciences of the European University Frankfurt/Oder.
The volume features a Foreword by Ned Strong, Executive Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University, and a Preface by Larry Birns, Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Washington D.C., and Former Senior Public Affairs Officer of the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America (Santiago, Chile).
Table of Contents:
Introduction.- The economic dimension. A nation grown by means of neoliberal policies.- The cultural dimension. A nation in search of identity between the competing narratives of the “center-right” and the “center-left”.- The political dimension. Chile after the presidential and general elections of 2013: What future?- The social dimension: Inequality and redistributive policies. Ideas for reform.- The fiscal dimension: Greater fairness at the price of a slowing economy? The ideological debate behind Bachelet’s envisaged tax reform.- The educational dimension. Michelle Bachelet II’s “master plan” for Chile’s future: The reform of education.- Conclusion and Outlook: Chile, quo vadis? Chile’s additional five future issues to address: A chance for progress.
About the Author :
Roland Benedikter, Dott. Dr. Dr. Dr., is a European Public Intellectual, Political Scientist and Sociologist serving as Research Scholar of Political Analysis at the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies of the University of California at Santa Barbara, Trustee of the Toynbee Prize Foundation Boston, Senior Research Fellow of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs Washington D.C. and Full member of the Club of Rome. Previously, he served as Research Affiliate 2009-13 at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University and as Full Academic Fellow 2008-12 of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Washington DC (where he remains on the editorial board of the Institute’s journal STEPS), and was active for 8 years (1995-2003) in European politics: the Autonomous Government of South Tyrol, a European model region on the border between Italy and Austria, the Federal Union of European Nationalities FUEN and the Assembly of EuropeanRegions AER. He was External Examiner and Adviser of two practice-oriented social science study programs of the University of Plymouth, UK, and of a study program on Preschool Peace Education of the University of Kosovo. He has written for Foreign Affairs, Harvard International Review (where he is on the Advisory board), The National Interest, Global Policy, Global Social Policy, New Global Studies, Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik, European Foreign Affairs Review a
nd Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs, and is a frequent commentator for the Italian national broadcast company Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the German newspaper Die Welt Berlin and the international commentary magazine The European. He is co-author of two Pentagon and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff White Papers on the Ethics of Neurowarfare (Pentagon Press, February 2013 and April 2014) and of Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker’s Report to the Club of Rome 2003: Limits to Privatization: How to avoid too much of a good thing (English 2005, Chinese 2006, German 2007). He is Full Member of various European associations of Political Science, won 4 science awards, and his publications include more than 200 articles and book chapters, 19 books (among them 2 multidisciplinary nation studies on China) and 19 encyclopedia articles. Contact: r.benedikter@orfaleacenter.ucsb.edu or rolandbenedikter@yahoo.de.
Katja Siepmann, MA, is a socio-political analyst who cooperates with the Social Research Institute “Opina” in Santiago de Chile. She is Senior Research Fellow of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs Washington D.C., Member of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Lecturer at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Cultural Sciences of the European University Frankfurt/Oder and has written for Foreign Affairs, Harvard International Review and Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs. Contact: katja.siepmann@goo
glemail.com.
Review :
Critical Acclaim for Chile in Transition
“…This book is one of the most encompassing and interdisciplinary country studies on Chile in many years, and this will be the standard text on the nation for the years to come.”
Sergio Arzeni, Director of the OECD Center for Entrepreneurship, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Local Development
“[Chile in Transition] is an interesting and comprehensive research [monograph] that allows an insight into current politics, economics and the overall development of my country… Particularly remarkable are some comments on foreign policy as well as on natural resources and energy. This is a most welcome book.”
Mariano Fernández, Ambassador of Chile in Germany, Berlin
“In this lucid analysis, Roland Benedikter and Katja Siepmann investigate the Chilean laboratory and find tracks in official statistics and public discourses, but also in advertisements or in the Metro of Santiago. In this way they draw with great precision the lights and shadows of the Chilean model, which has been profoundly called into question for the first time in three decades.”
Daniel Matamala, Anchorman, CNN Prime, CNN Chile
“…In my view, this is the most solid work about Chile I have seen for years within the liberal perspective. Benedikter’s and Siepmann’s book is especially fortunate in its treatment of the economic and fi
scal dimensions, where the question marks about the paradoxes between the macro and the micro spheres are elaborated with solidity…”
Prof. Dr. Alberto Mayol, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH)
“This text is a brilliant analysis of the current and envisaged context of reforms and innovation in Chile. Given the outstanding ambition and multidimensionality of its transition, Chile will remain a most interesting topic to study throughout the coming years. This book decisively helps to understand the greater picture.”
Professor Dr. Andrea Billi, Università La Sapienza, Rome
“Benedikter and Siepmann offer a lively explanation of contemporary Chile’s reality, challenges, and prospects for the future. This is a timely, important, and eminently readable book.”
Amy Goodman, Host and Executive Producer, Democracy Now!
