This book investigates a recent Peruvian decentralization reform that is considered to be one of the most participatory in Latin America.

Forty years after the declaration of the "war on drugs" by President Nixon, the debate on the effectiveness and costs of the ban is red-hot. Several former Latin American presidents and leading intellectuals from around the world have drawn attention to the ineffectiveness and adverse consequences of prohibitionism. This book thoroughly analyzes the drug policies of one of the main protagonists in this war. The book covers many topics: the economics of drug production, the policies to reduce consumption and decrease supply during the Plan Colombia, the effects of the drug problem on Colombia's international relations, the prevention of money laundering, the connection between drug trafficking and paramilitary politics, and strategies against organized crime. Beyond the diversity in topics, there is a common thread running through all the chapters: the need to analyze objectively what works and what does not, based on empirical evidence. Presented here for the first time to an English-speaking audience, this book is a contribution to a debate that urgently needs to transcend ideology and preconceived opinions.

El conjunto de trabajos de este volumen revela el nivel alcanzado por el fenómeno de las drogas en el mundo andino, así como su significado en términos de las relaciones de Brasil, Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea con el área. Todos los ensayos indican la complejidad del fenómeno, los magros resultados de las políticas antidrogas y las frustraciones que ha producido la perpetuación de una estrategia antinarcóticos decididamente coactiva: “La guerra contra las drogas”. El presente libro comprueba que este paradigma prohibicionista debe reevaluarse.

Cases on Successful E-Learning Practices in the Developed and Developing World: Methods for the Global Information Economy provides eclectic accounts of case studies in different contexts of e-learning.

‘Development and Semi-periphery’ presents a collection of articles that focus on comparative analysis of development trajectories in the semi-peripheral countries of South America and Central Eastern Europe. As opposed to the transitology studies that were prevalent in the 1990s, and that treated the neoliberal context in these two regions separately, the articles in this book instead offer a new comparative analysis focusing on the consequences of neoliberal reforms and the new actors that deal with their results. The essays discuss the various forms of state that have unfolded in different peripheral countries, their role in the social engineering of economic models and social policies, and the impact of state capacities and ideas on institutional innovation. The volume also compares transformations in political culture, collective identities and contentious politics in both areas.

This book brings together several systems-level approaches to the consideration of the interaction of livelihood choices, natural resource management and participatory action research on sustainable development. By focusing on these approaches to community change, the volume hopes to encourage readers to consider how they might adopt methods such as Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), Community Capitals Framework (CCF) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) in their own research, practice and teaching. Thus, this volume will engage readers in reflection about the importance of systems-level approaches that address poverty from the perspective of the poor, natural resource management that maintains the resource for future generations, and the engagement of local people in designing and implementing, and thus owning, strategies that address equity as well as economic security and the environment. This book was originally published as a special issue of Community Development.

In a world where innovation is considered to be a key driver for a new economy, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) can play a pivotal role. With this understanding, HEI in Latin America, have become significantly more entrepreneurial over the last decades in order to perform their 'third mission' - provide a greater benefit to society. UniTransfer, the project that gives birth to this book, emerges as a response to a better understanding of the nature of knowledge and technology transfer (KTT), presenting interesting alternative approaches to KTT such as; 'Science-to-business marketing', 'Partnering approaches for knowledge transfer' and 'Academic Entrepreneurship'; further it offers tools and proposes actions to implement change from within the structures of HEIs in Central America and Mexico. This publication portrays the projects developed by the participants from UniTransfer - Executive Training Course. Each chapter constitutes an approach and a good practice that can be further consulted by any other academic institution in a similar context striving for change to success. Moreover, the projects developed from each participant illustrate the specific profiles, visions and missions, as well as organisational and governance frameworks that the new leadership in higher education needs to embrace if it ought to fulfil its new entrepreneurial role beyond the traditional boundaries of the HEI. 'The UniTransfer Executive Training Course at Münster University of Applied Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica and Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, helped me to think in markets and beyond my own institution and role as an academic. The visits to the technology parks and to the transfer agencies in Münster, San José and Pachuca helped me to bring new models to be adapted to our region.' José Luis Antón de la Concha, Vice rector of Research, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, México 'After UniTransfer I realize that university-business linkages can make a great contribution to the development of our countries and societies. Sharing different points of views and experiences has been beneficial for new knowledge acquisition and invaluable friendship from Costa Rica, Mexico, Germany, Spain and Australia. Thank you all!' Marcelino Antonio Castro-Baltodano, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniaría, Nicaragua