PART 1: HISTORY 1. Pre-Columbian America 2. The Arrival of the Spaniards to America: Colombian project, the military conquest and the debate s about the "just titles". 3. Political, economic, social and cultural organization of the Indies with the Austrians. 4. Brazil and the Portuguese colonial model. 5. America and the Bourbon Reformism. 6. American Independence. 7. The North American take-off and development of the new republics. 8. Crisis of capitalism, world wars and block policy. 9. Democracies, revolutions and dictatorships. The era of neoliberalism and populism. PART 2: POLITICS 1. Construction of the State 2. Development strategies 3. Globalization, international markets and political economy 4. (Re) democratization 5. Actors 6. Political Institutions 7. Elections 8. Rule of law, violence and criminality 9. Comparison of national political dynamics