Changing Course in Latin America
Party Systems in the Neoliberal Era
Published on 12. January 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-0-521-67326-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book explores the impact of economic crises and free-market reforms on party systems and political representation in contemporary Latin America. It explains why some patterns of market reform align and stabilize party systems, whereas other patterns of reform leave party systems vulnerable to widespread social protest and electoral instability. In contrast to other works on the topic, this book accounts for both the institutionalization and the breakdown of party systems, and it explains why Latin America turned to the Left politically in the aftermath of the market-reform process. Ultimately, it explains why this 'left turn' was more radical in some countries than others and why it had such varied effects on national party systems.
Reviews / Votes
'Kenneth M. Roberts's book provides an outstanding synthetic argument about the impact of the convulsive period of market liberalization on party systems in Latin America, providing a nuanced answer to the question of why this critical juncture generated distinct legacies in some countries and not others. Its perspective will be central to scholarly debates regarding the causes and consequences of the vast changes in patterns of political representation evident in the region today.' Jonathan Hartlyn, Kenneth J. Reckford Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 'This theoretical and empirical tour de force uses the study of party system change to provide 'a lens through which to view the broader realignment of social, economic, and political fields during Latin America's turbulent transition to market globalization'. Roberts largely meets these lofty aspirations in a compelling, comprehensive account of party system change in the region.' Ryan E. Carlin, Latin American Research ReviewMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
37 Tables, unspecified; 14 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 149 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
545 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-67326-6 (9780521673266)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
01/2015
Cambridge University Press
€130.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
12/2014
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€27.99
Available for download
Person
Kenneth M. Roberts is Professor of Government at Cornell University. He is the author of Deepening Democracy?: The Modern Left and Social Movements in Chile and Peru (1998). Roberts is the co-editor of The Diffusion of Social Movements: Actors, Mechanisms, and Political Effects (Cambridge, 2010) and The Resurgence of the Latin American Left (2011). His articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics and Society, and Studies in Comparative International Development.
Content
1. Introduction: party system change in the neoliberal era; Part I. Explaining Regional Patterns: 2. Partisanship and the puzzle of party system stability; 3. Critical junctures and party system change; 4. Antecedent conditions: party system differentiation in twentieth-century Latin America; 5. Neoliberal critical junctures and party system stability; 6. Programmatic (de-)alignment and party system stability in the aftermath period; Part II. National Experiences in Comparative Perspective: 7. Critical junctures in elitist party systems; 8. Critical junctures in labor-mobilizing party systems; 9. Aftermath: reactive sequences and institutional legacies; 10. Conclusion: political legacies and the crisis of representation; Appendix: election results in Latin America.