ABOUT THIS BOOK

In Domesticating Democracy Susan Helen Ellison examines foreign-funded alternate dispute resolution (ADR) organizations that provide legal aid and conflict resolution to vulnerable citizens in El Alto, Bolivia. Advocates argue that these programs help residents cope with their interpersonal disputes and economic troubles while avoiding an overburdened legal system and cumbersome state bureaucracies. Ellison shows that ADR programs do more than that—they aim to change the ways Bolivians interact with the state and with global capitalism, making them into self-reliant citizens. ADR programs frequently encourage Bolivians to renounce confrontational expressions of discontent, turning away from courtrooms, physical violence, and street protest and coming to the negotiation table. Nevertheless, residents of El Alto find creative ways to take advantage of these micro-level resources while still seeking justice and a democratic system capable of redressing the structural violence and vulnerability that ADR fails to treat.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Susan Ellison is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wellesley College.

REVIEWS

"An in-depth study of the complexities of a foreign-founded programme of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and its eff ects, appropriations and interpretations amongst El Alto residents in Bolivia . . . particularly relevant for practitioners and civil servants."

-- Nico Tassi Anthropology in Action

"Ellison uses insightful accounts to weave people’s daily experiences of conflicts and vulnerability into the work of the ADR centres and the judicial structure of the country. . . . The book is very valuable in helping us understand Bolivia’s complex process of change, the structural impediments to peaceful progress and the vulnerabilities of large proportions of the populations – conditions that are not automatically helped by foreign funded programmes."

-- Charlotta Widmark Journal of Latin American Studies

“[Domesticating Democracy] elegantly elucidates the ways that Bolivian political conflicts move across and thereby newly draw together domestic, national, and transnational practices and institutions.”

-- Mareike Winchell Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

“[Domesticating Democracy] is an important book for scholars of the Andes and political and legal studies scholars, as well as anyone trying to get their head around what neoliberalism is and what (hopefully, someday) comes next. . . . The clear writing and strong narrative thread make it a good option for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in all disciplines.”

-- Susan Ellison Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Uprising 31
1. Fix the State or Fix the People 37
2. Cultures of Peace, Cultures of Conflict 64
3. A Market for Mediators 95
A Brief Recess: Conciliating Conflict in Alto Lima 121
4. Between Compadres There Is No Interest 134
5. The Conflictual Social Life of an Industrial Sewing Machine 163
6. You Have to Comply with Paper 194
Conclusion 221
Notes 235
References 255
Index 275

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