Assessing Fujimori's Peru

Assessing Fujimori's Peru Catherine M. Conaghan, Fujimori's Peru: Deception in the Public Sphere, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2OO5, 311 pp. $29-95

Alberto Fujimori succeeded in dissolving Peru's congress, rewriting the constitution, stacking the judiciary with supporters, and paying off

At its best, Fujimori's Peru is a page-turning political thriller, something few academic writers can boast of producing. It examines the power dynamic between the state and the entities that make up the public sphere. In particular, it highlights the ways that a too powerful state can render the public sphere, and consequently democratic governance, irrelevant or non-existent. As such, it is a welcome contribution to the burgeoning literature on the challenges to democratic consolidation in Latin America and elsewhere and the importance of a vibrant public space in helping to achieve democracy.