Conservative parties, the right, and democracy in Latin America / edited by Kevin J. Middlebrook.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Middlebrook, Kevin J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political parties--Latin America.

Political parties.

Conservatism--Latin America.

Conservatism.

Latin America--Politics and government--1980-.

Latin America.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (408 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Under what conditions do political institutions develop that are capable of promoting economic and social elites' accommodation to democracy? The importance of this question for research on regime change and democracy in Latin America lies in two established political facts: alliances between upper-class groups and the armed forces have historically been a major cause of military intervention in the region, and countries with electorally viable national conservative parties have experienced significantly longer periods of democratic governance since the 1920s and 1930s than have countries with weak conservative parties. The contributors to this book examine the relationship between the Right and democracy in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, and Venezuela during the 1980s and 1990s. The authors focus particularly on the challenges that democratization may pose to upper-class groups; the political role of conservative parties and their electoral performance during these two crucial decades; and the relationships among conservative party strength or weakness, different modes of elite interest representation, and economic and social elites' support for political democracy. The volume includes a statistical appendix with data on conservative parties' electoral performance in national elections during the 1980s and 1990s in these seven countries.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Figures and Tables

Acknowledgments

Principal Acronyms

CHAPTER 1 Introduction Conservative Parties, Elite Representation, and Democracy in Latin America

PART I Established Conservative Parties and the Challenge of Democracy

CHAPTER 2 Atavism and Democratic Ambiguity in the Chilean Right

CHAPTER 3 The Conservative Party and the Crisis of Political Legitimacy in Colombia

CHAPTER 4 Venezuelan Parties and the Representation of Elite Interests

PART II Democratization, the Right, and New Conservative Parties

CHAPTER 5 Ruling without a Party Argentine Dominant Classes in the Twentieth Century

CHAPTER 6 Conservative Parties, Democracy, and Economic Reform in Contemporary Brazil

CHAPTER 7 Civil War and the Transformation of Elite Representation in El Salvador

CHAPTER 8 The Irrelevant Right Alberto Fujimori and the New Politics of Pragmatic Peru

CHAPTER 9 Conclusion Conservative Politics, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America

STATISTICAL APPENDIX National Election Results, 1980s and 1990s, for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, and Venezuela

Notes

Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [329]-375) and index.

ISBN:

0-8018-7653-2

OCLC:

70756178