Changing Course in Latin America
Party Systems in the Neoliberal Era

This book explores the impact of economic crises and free-market reforms on party systems and political representation in contemporary Latin America.

Kenneth M. Roberts (Author)

9780521673266, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 January 2015

368 pages, 14 b/w illus. 37 tables
22.9 x 15.1 x 2 cm, 0.54 kg

'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 Review

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]