1. Concepts in the Study of Latin American Politics Max Cameron Poli 332 2016 UBC

2. Institutions Institutions = rules and incentives, norms and values, organization of power

3. State “Political aspect of social relations of domination.” (O’Donnell) “…the institutional structure, and body of law that make up the public sector,” including the government, bureaucracy, legislature, judiciary, public and semi-public corporations, and the legal system (Collier 1979, p. 403).

4. Constitution Defines the relationship between those who rule and those who are ruled; establishes rights and duties; enables and constrains power An essential feature of constitutions is the separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial).

5. Rule of Law Rule of law “enforcing laws so they are the same for every member of society” (nobody is above the law) (p. 79) In Latin America the rule of law is uneven: poor rarely are able to use the law to constrain the wealthy and powerful. Civil code vs common law

6. Types of Political Systems Oligarchic Populist Authoritarian Democratic

7. Regime “The formal and informal structure of governmental roles and processes.” Collier 1979, p. 402. Regulates access to and exercise of power. Distinguished from incumbents of public office (“government”).

8. Oligarchy “The scope of political competition is limited. The elite of the primary-produce export sector (based on minerals and agricultural products) dominates the state and orients public policy around its needs. Such systems are neither incorporating nor excluding, because the popular sector has not yet become politically activated.” Collier, 1979, pp. 23-24

9. Populist “While there is considerable variation in the degree to which these systems are competitive and democratic, they are clearly ‘incorporating.’ They are based on a multi-class coalition of urban-industrial interests, including industrial elites and the urban popular sector.” Collier, 1979, p. 24. Populism is (a) a multi-class coalition; (b) politically incorporating; (c) promotes early phase of ISI. Collier, 1979, p. 402. Popular sector: The urban and rural lower class and lower middle class. Collier 1979, p. 402.

10. Authoritarian “Political systems with limited, not responsible, political pluralism, without elaborate and guiding ideology, but with distinctive mentalities, without extensive nor intensive political mobilization, except at some points in their development, and in which a leader or occasionally a small group exercises power within formally ill-defined limits but actually quite predictable ones.” -- Juan Linz cited in Collier, 1979, p. 399.

11. Corporatism “…a pattern of relationships between the state and interest groups that involves such elements as state structuring of representation that produces a system of officially sanctioned, noncompetitive interest associations organized into legally prescribed functional groupings; state subsidy of these associations; and direct state control over their leadership, demand-making and internal governance” Collier, 1979, p. 400.

12. Incorporation (of popular sectors) “Deliberate government efforts to activate the popular sectors and to allow it some voice in national politics.” Collier 1979, p. 401. Opposite of exclusion: “Consistent governmental refusal to meet the political demands made by the leaders of (the popular) sectors…[and denial] to this sector and its leaders [of] access to positions of political power” O’Donnell cited in Collier, 1979, p. 401.

13. Perception of Threat “The degree to which technocrats, members of the business community, and the middle class perceive the political and economic crisis as a threat to the existing economic and political order…” Collier 1979, p. 389.

14. Parties Parties are organizations that compete for votes in elections. Disciplined parties play an important role in democracy, but in Latin America parties are often small, fragmented, poorly organized, weakly representative. In recent years they have become more professionalized and links with society weaker. - Source: Isbester, ch3.

15. Bureaucracy Etymology: bureau + kratos (rule of administrators) Weber: a system of rational administration Informal institutions: corruption, clientelism, nepotism, bureaucratic patrimonialism (p. 87).

16. Military Coercive apparatus of the state Guardians of “la patria”? The role of the military in democracy: expected to be non-deliberative and obedient

17. Military Coups Forcible overthrow of a government and seizure of power involving the armed forces.

18. Presidentialism Separate election of the president and congress (not the same as separation of powers) normally with a fixed term. Term limits common.

19. Pros/Cons of Presidentialism Advantages: president has separate legitimacy, personifies the nation (and can’t be easily removed). Fixed terms and term limits. Disadvantages: winner-take-all system; separate legitimacy means hard to remove; fewer incentives to compromise; legislative-executive relations can be difficult: deadlock, gridlock, drift.... Presidentialism feeds personalismo (p. 80) Legislatures weak and undervalued. Often malapportioned and poorly representative.

20. Assignment for Next Class Read Guillermo O’Donnell’s, “Delegative Democracy” (DD). Thursday seminar discussion topics: – What is DD? What are good examples? – How is it different from representative democracy? – What are the conditions that give rise to DD? – What kind of citizenship is possible in a DD? – What attitudes support DD? – What is the role of the international context in creating DDS?