This major new reference surveys political parties of importance in the Americas since 1980, with the exclusion of the United States. This one-volume work is part of and has been fashioned both to update Robert J. Alexander's prize-winning two-volume set published in 1982, , and to serve as an analysis of political development and political parties in the Western Hemisphere during the last decade, an encyclopedia that can stand on its own. Like other works in this series, this volume edited by Charles D. Ameringer is intended for college, university, institutional, and public libraries. Following a brief introduction giving some general historical background, chapters on 49 countries in North and South America and in the Caribbean are arranged alphabetically. These chapters provide some historical information, short bibliographies, and then describe political parties and current developments of note. Parties are arranged alphabetically by their English names or translations. Internal cross-references and a full index make the volume easily accessible to researchers in different fields. A chronology points to dates of importance.