Peter Hopkinson Smith (born January 17, 1940) is a scholar of Latin American history, politics, economics, and diplomacy. He is a distinguished Professor Emeritus of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and the Simon Bolivar Professor of

Latin American Studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, histor ...

at University of California in San Diego. He previously served as a professor of history and Department chairman at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and as professor and dean at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He has been president of the Latin American Studies Association and has also been director of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies (1989–2001) and director of Latin American Studies (1994–2001) at UCSD.

Education

Smith obtained his Ph.D. in Comparative Politics, Latin America from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1966.

Publications

His books have appeared in numerous editions and have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese. Some of his publications include: * ''Politics and Beef in Argentina: Patterns of Conflict and Change'' (1969) * ''Argentina and the Failure of Democracy: Conflict among Political Elites, 1904-1955'' (1974) * ''Labyrinths of Power: Political Recruitment in Twentieth-Century Mexico'' (1979) * ''Talons of the Eagle: Dynamics of U.S.-Latin American Relations'' (1996; 2nd edition, 2000; 3rd edition, 2007; 4th edition, 2011; 5th edition, 2021) * ''Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective'' (2005) * ''Modern Latin America,'' co-authored (1984), now in its ninth edition (2018) * ''Drug Policy in the Americas,'' edited (1992) * ''Latin America in Comparative Perspective: New Approaches to Methods and Analysis,'' edited (1995) * ''NAFTA in the New Millennium,'' edited (2002) * ''East Asia and Latin America: The Unlikely Alliance,'' edited (2003) * ''Promises of Empowerment: Women in Asia and Latin America,'' edited (2004) Smith's major studies regarding politics, democracy and globalization have been subjects of review essays in leading journals.Wil Pansters, et al. "Interpreting Contemporary Mexican Politics: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose?." ''European Review of Latin American & Caribbean Studies '' (1991): 119-135.

Organizations

Smith has been the president of the Latin American Studies Association as well as being the consultant to the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Smith received a lifetime achievement award from the Latin American Studies Association in 2013.

References

1940 births Living people University of California, San Diego faculty American political scientists Latin Americanists United States–South American relations Columbia University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty {{US-polisci-bio-stub