Dragon in the Tropics: Venezuela and the Legacy of Hugo Chavez

With the death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, demand has developed for an update to the 2010 title, Dragon in the Tropics - the widely-hailed comprehensive account of how Chavez and his regime revamped Venezuela. Authors Javier Corrales and Michael Penfold have revised and updated their original work. Two new chapters have been added: Succession Crises and Hybrid Regimes examines the electoral decline of Chavismo after the passing of its namesake, and a new concluding chapter argues that Chavez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro, has turned far more autocratic than anything seen in Venezuela since 1958. Finally, the authors apply lessons from the Arab Spring to show why Venezuela’s succession produced neither regime collapse nor heightened political violence.