Jeffrey Cason
Dean of International Programs and Knox Professor of International Studies and Politics
Email: cason@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5745
Office Hours: Wednesday 2:00 - 3:00 and by appointment
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Jeffrey Cason is the Dean of International Programs and the Edward C. Knox Professor of International Studies and Politics. He joined the Middlebury faculty in 1994, and has taught courses in Latin American politics, international and comparative political economy, and in the interdisciplinary program in International Studies.
As an expert on Brazil, one area of his research focuses on the political economy of trade in Latin America, and Latin American integration in particular. His book The Political Economy of Integration: The Experience of Mercosur will be published by Routledge late in 2010, and other articles of his on this topic have appeared in journals and edited books. He has also conducted research on Uruguay, and his articles on Uruguayan political institutions have appeared in the Journal of Democracy and Latin American Politics and Society.
In his administrative work, Cason works with Middlebury's Schools Abroad (located in 34 sites in 13 countries) and also manages the process through which Middlebury students study on other programs, both international and domestic. He also oversees the Office of International Students and Scholar Services, which welcomes Middlebury's international students (more than 10 percent of the student body). Related to this work with Middlebury's international programs, Cason has also written on the process of doing research abroad, and with his co-author Christopher Barrett has just published the second edition of his book, Overseas Research: A Practical Guide.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
HIST 0500 - Special Research Projects
Special research projects during the junior year may be used to fulfill the research seminar requirements in some cases. Approval of department chair and project advisor is required.
Winter 2011, Winter 2012
IGST 0447 / ECON 0337 / PSCI 0337 - Democ/Develop/Globalization
Democracy, Development, and Globalization
In this course we will address crucial issues that both economists and political scientists have considered fundamental to their disciplines: how nations become democratic, develop economically, and confront globalization and regionalism. We will focus on theories that come from various disciplines to explain these phenomena. Following several weeks of theoretical discussion, we will focus on case studies from Latin America, Europe, Russia, Eastern Europe, and China. Our approach will focus on integrating various disciplines to understand these inherently interdisciplinary issues. Students will be expected to write research papers that will utilize foreign language sources, as appropriate. This course is equivalent to ECON 0337 and PSCI 0337.
Fall 2013
INTL 0101 - Intro to Intl & Global Studies
Introduction to International and Global Studies
This is the core course of the International and Global Studies major. It is an introduction to key international issues and problems that will likely feature prominently in their courses at Middlebury and study abroad. Issues covered will differ from year to year, but they may include war, globalization, immigration, racism, imperialism, nationalism, world organizations, non-governmental organizations, the European Union, the rise of East Asia, politics and society in Latin America, and anti-Americanism. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Fall 2011
INTL 0703 - LAS Senior Thesis
Latin American Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Winter 2012, Spring 2012
IPEC 0500 - Independent Project ▲ ▹
Independent Project
(Approval Required)
Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015
IPEC 0700 - Intl.Pol.&Economics SR. Thesis ▲ ▹
Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Winter 2012, Winter 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015
PSCI 0416 - Latin American Pol Development
Latin American Political Development (in Spanish)
This course will examine the political development of Latin America after independence. Major topics in the course will include: leadership and caudillismo, nationalism and the relationship between Latin America and the outside world, democracy and authoritarianism, revolutionary movements and electoral systems. Readings for the course will draw on the work of Latin American social scientists and novelists, and will also include speeches and writings from Latin American political leaders. A major goal of the course is to build an ability to carry on sophisticated discussion of Latin American politics in Spanish. Most readings will be in Spanish, and all classes will be conducted in Spanish. If there is sufficient student interest, a supplemental discussion in Portuguese will be added. This course will fulfill the advanced language course requirement for International Studies majors. Students may also use the course to receive elective credit in the Spanish department, though it does not fulfill the SPAN senior seminar requirement. 3 hrs. sem. (Comparative Politics)/
Fall 2010
PSCI 0484 - Political Econ of Regionalism ▹
The Political Economy of Regionalism *
In this course we will address the political economy of regionalism in a variety of national and regional contexts. We will consider both integration projects—such as the European Union and South America’s Mercosur—as well as subnational local autonomy movements, such as those in Catalonia and Scotland. We will study theories of integration as well as case studies from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, focusing on the political and economic forces driving both integration and disintegration in their historical and contemporary contexts. We will also consider how globalization affects regional integration projects. /(Comparative Theory)/ 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2014
PSCI 0500 - Independent Project ▲ ▹
Independent Projects
A program of independent work designed to meet the individual needs of advanced students. (Approval required)
Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015
PSCI 0700 - Honors Thesis ▲ ▹
Honors Thesis
(Approval required)
Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015
Curriculum Vitae
Books Published
The Political Economy of Integration: The Experience of Mercosur. London: Routledge (forthcoming June 2010)
Overseas Research: A Practical Guide, 2nd edition (with Christopher Barrett). London: Routledge (2010)
Development and Democracy: New Perspectives on an Old Debate (co-edited with sunder Ramaswamy), University Press of New England, 2003
Development at a Crossroads: Uncertain Paths to Sustainability After the Neoliberal Revolution (co-edited with Michael Carter and Frederic Zimmerman), Global Studies Research Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998
Overseas Research: A Practical Guide, co-authored with Christopher Barrett), Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997
Articles and Book Chapters
"Presidentialization, Pluralization, and the Rollback of Itamaraty: Explaining Change in Brazilian Foreign Policy Making in the Cardoso-Lula Era" (with Timothy Power), International Political Science Review 30 (2): 117-140 (2009)
"Searching for a New Formula: Brazilian Political Economy in Reform," Latin American Research Review 42 (2): 212-224 (2007)
"Peace and Economic Interdependence in the Middle East," (with Kirsten Wandschneider and Amichai Kilchevsky), The World Economy 30 (4): 647-664 (April 2007)
"Hopes Dashed? Lula's Brazil," Current History 105 (688) (February 2006)
"Development and Democracy: An Introduction to the Debates," (with Sunder Ramaswamy) in Sunder Ramaswamy and Jeffrey Cason, eds., Development and Democracy: New Perspectives on an Old Debate. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England (2003)
"Electoral Reform, Institutional Change, and Party Adaptation in Uruguay," Latin American Politics and Society 44 (3) (Fall 2002)
"Turning the Tables: State and Society in South America's Economic Integration," (with Jennifer Burrell), Polity 34 (4) (Summer 2002)
"Brazil: Political Institutions and the Delayed Reaction to International Financial Crisis," in Shale Horowitz and Uk Heo, eds., The Political Economy of the World Financial Crisis: Economic Policy and Institutional Change in East Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers (2001)
"Electoral Reform and Stability in Uruguay," Journal of Democracy 11 (2): 85-98 (2000). Reprinted in Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner, eds., Electoral Systems and Democracy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press (2006)
"On the Road to Southern Cone Economic Integration," Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 42 (1): 23-42 (2000)
"Whatever Happened to the New International Economic Order?," in Andrew Valls, ed., Ethics and International Affairs. Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield Publishers (2000)
"Democracy Looks South: Mercosul and the Politics of Brazilian Trade Strategy," in Peter Kingstone and Timothy Power, eds., Democratic Brazil. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University Press (2000)
"Electronic Conferencing and International Political Economy," in David G. Brown, ed. Interactive Learning: Vignettes from America's Most Wired Campuses. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company (1999)
"¿La última elección de la Guerra Fria?," Brecha (Montevideo), November 19, 1999
"The State as Naive Entrepreneur: The Political Economy of Export Promotion in Brazil and Tunisia," (with Gregory White), Policy Studies Journal 26 (1): 46-68 (1998)
"Export Promotion in Brazil and East Asia," Carta Internacional (São Paulo) 60: 2 (1998).
"Identifying a Site and Funding Source" (with Christopher Barrett, excerpt from Overseas Research), Items—Social Science Research Council 51 (2-3): 42-44 (1997)
"Development Strategy and Development Tactics: An Agenda for Sustainable Development," (with Frederic Zimmerman), Working Paper Series on Development at the Crossroads, Global Studies Research Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison (1995)
"Automobile Commodity Chains in the NICS: A Comparison of South Korea, Mexico, and Brazil," (with Naeyoung Lee), in Gary Gereffi and Miguel Korzeniewicz, eds., Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1994)
"Allende's Chile and the Professional-Managerial Class," Economic Forum, (1984, Rasmussen Prize Essay)
Current Research Project
My current research focuses on the political economy of South American integration. Once considered an abject failure, recent efforts at integration between the Southern Cone countries (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and Brazil have made remarkable progress, to the point that an "imperfect" customs union was initiated among the countries at the beginning of 1995. The premise underlying the research project is quite simple: none of this would have happened without a remarkable change in the politics of the region and the perceived interests of crucial political actors. Whereas there may have been an economic logic suggesting integration for decades, only a change in politics could make it possible. The research focuses on the changing interests and political activities of key actors, particularly important parts of the state, key segments of business, and the organized labor movement.
Research Interests
Latin American Political Economy
Brazilian Politics
Argentine Politics
Political Economy of Integration
Trade Policy
