{"product_id":"the-making-of-modern-colombia-a-nation-in-spite-of-itself-9780520082892","title":"The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself","description":"\u003cp\u003eColombias status as the fourth largest nation in Latin America and third most populousas well as its largest exporter of such disparate commodities as emeralds  books  processed cocaine  and cut flowersmakes this  the first history of Colombia written in English  a much-needed book. It tells the remarkable story of a country that has consistently defied modern Latin American stereotypesa country where military dictators are virtually unknown  where the political left is congenitally weak  and where urbanization and industrialization have spawned no lasting populist movement.  There is more to Colombia than the drug trafficking and violence that have recently gripped the worlds attention. In the face of both cocaine wars and guerrilla conflict  the country has maintained steady economic growth as well as a relatively open and democratic government based on a two-party system. It has also produced an impressive body of art and literature.  David Bushnell traces the process of state-building in Colombia from the struggle for independence  territorial consolidation  and reform in the nineteenth century to economic development and social and political democratization in the twentieth. He also sheds light on the modern history of Latin America as a whole.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45953197801525,"sku":"ByrdShop_0520082893","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780520082892.jpg?v=1788181393","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-making-of-modern-colombia-a-nation-in-spite-of-itself-9780520082892","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}