Mobilizing Teachers

Christopher Chambers-Ju is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas in Arlington. He has worked on education politics for nearly twenty years, in academic and policy circles, and has conducted field research throughout Latin America. He holds a Ph.D in in political science from UC Berkeley and was the recipient of the Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.

• 1. Why Teachers; 2. How Union Organizations Shape Teacher Mobilization; 3. The Origins of National Teacher Organizations; 4. Organizational Consolidation in Mexico; 5. Instrumentalism in Mexico; 6. Organizational Weakening in Argentina; 7. Movementism in Argentina; 8. Factionalism in Colombia; 9. Leftism in Colombia; 10. Teacher Politics in Comparative Perspective.

'Public unions are increasingly becoming the hegemonic labor actor in many developing and developed economies. This epochal shift is evident in Latin America, where the old private sector-based corporatist alliances melted, and teacher unions emerged as powerful forces in the 21st century. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, Christopher Chambers-Ju documents the nuts and bolts of teacher politics in three key cases in the region. The result is something we have been waiting for: a compelling account of alternative mobilization trajectories based on the organizational dynamics of teachers' unions, and an explanatory model with solid theoretical ambitions. This book is indispensable to understand the new political economy of labor in Latin America.' Sebastián Etchemendy, Associate Professor, Torcuato Di Tella University