Public affairs education in Latin America and the shape of the state: the cases of Brazil, Chile, and Colombia

Abstract

This chapter explores, from a comparative perspective, the current state of public administration education in three Latin American countries, each with strong similarities and different traditions and emphases on their public administration structures. In doing so, we aim to analyze how the shape and the type of the State have influenced public affairs education in the three countries. We will offer in the first part an overview of public administration in Latin America. In the second section, we will delve into the evolution and the current state of public affairs education at three different levels (undergraduate, master, and doctoral). Finally, according to the analysis in section 2, we will display a comparative analysis aiming to disentangle the particular focus in each country, the differences, and the commonalities to see whether there is a Latin American way of teaching public affairs.