Aid, Power, and Privatization

This book provides a comparative study of the telecommunication reform process in three Central American countries - Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras - focusing on the roles of the local private sector and international financial institutions.

By addressing the following questions, the book aims to understand the potential for the emergence of an autonomous and inclusive regulatory state:

• What has been the main driving force behind the wave of privatizations in Latin America?
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• What has been the role of the international financial institutions (IFIs)?
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• What kind of state emerges after privatization and regulatory reform?
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• Why does privatization remain so unpopular?

The author discusses the historical role of telecommunications in state power, the sources of proposed, failed and implemented reforms, and the political processes determining their destiny. Benedicte Bull concludes that the reform processes in the three countries show significant variation. This is accounted for - not by the different relationship to the IFIs, but by the different relationships between the state and the private sector. The impact of this on the reform process is also the key to understanding the state's capacity for post-reform regulation and the unpopularity of privatization.

Academics and students with an interest in Latin American studies, international political economy, comparative politics and development studies will find this book of great appeal.