Charles H. Blake is professor of political science at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he teaches comparative politics, comparative public policy, and research methods. His research on the political economy of upper-income and middle-income societies has been published in a variety of journals including Comparative Political Studies, Democratization, and the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, among others. The second edition of his Politics in Latin America: The Quests for Development, Liberty, and Governance will be published in 2008.