Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T15:58:11.514Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

From Representative Democracy to Participatory Competitive Authoritarianism: Hugo Chávez and Venezuelan Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2012

Scott Mainwaring*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame

Extract

The study of Latin American politics has always generated great new research questions, and within Latin America, no country's experience has generated more interesting questions than Venezuela since the election of Hugo Chávez in 1998. Contemporary Venezuela raises fascinating questions about the collapse of a highly institutionalized party system and the erosion or breakdown of what had been the third-oldest democracy outside of the advanced industrial democracies. What accounts for these stunning developments? What can we learn from them? These issues go to the core of important developments in Latin American politics, and they are major issues for comparative political scientists beyond Latin America.

Type
Review Essay
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Avritzer, Leonardo. 2009. Participatory Institutions in Democratic Brazil. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baiocchi, Gianpaolo. 2005. Militants and Citizens: The Politics of Participation in Porto Alegre. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Birdsall, Nancy, Lustig, Nora, and McLeod, Darryl. 2011. “Declining Income Inequality in Latin America: Some Economics, Some Politics.” Center for Global Development, Working Paper 251.Google Scholar
Coppedge, Michael. 1994. Strong Parties and Lame Ducks: Presidential Partyarchy and Factionalism in Venezuela. Stanford: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coppedge, Michael. 2005. “Explaining Democratic Deterioration in Venezuela through Nested Inference.” In The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks, ed. Hagopian, Frances and Mainwaring, Scott. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 289320.Google Scholar
Coppedge, M., and Herring, J., Altman, with D., Bernhard, M., Fish, S., Hicken, A., Kroenig, M., Lindbergh, S., McMann, K., Paxton, P., Semetko, H., Skanning, Ñ-E., Staton, J., and Teorell, J.. 2011. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: A New Approach.” Perspective on Politics 9(2): 247–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corrales, Javier. 2002. Presidents without Parties: The Politics of Economic Reform in Argentina and Venezuela in the 1990s. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Crisp, Brian, Levine, Daniel H., and Molina, José E.. 2003. “The Rise and Decline of COPEI in Venezuela.” In Christian Democracy in Latin America: Electoral Competition and Regime Conflicts, ed. Mainwaring, Scott and Scully, Timothy R.. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 275300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1971. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Dietz, Henry, and Myers, David. 2007. “From Thaw to Deluge: Party System Collapse in Venezuela and Peru.” Latin American Politics and Society 49(2): 61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. 2010. Social Panorama of Latin America 2010. Santiago, Chile.Google Scholar
Freedom House. 2012. Freedom in the World 2012, online edition. http://www.freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-world (accessed August 1, 2012).Google Scholar
Fung, Archon. 2011. “Reinventing Democracy in Latin America.” Perspectives on Politics 9(4): 857–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gates, Leslie C. 2010. Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldfrank, Benjamin. 2011. “The Left and Participatory Democracy: Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela.” In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth M.. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 162–83.Google Scholar
Handlin, Samuel, and Collier, Ruth Berins. 2011. “The Diversity of Left Party Linkages and Competitive Advantage.” In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth M.. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 139–61.Google Scholar
Hawkins, Kirk A. 2010a. Venezuela's Chavismo and Populism in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, Kirk A. 2010b. “Who Mobilizes? Participatory Democracy in Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution.” Latin American Politics and Society 52(3): 3166.Google Scholar
Heston, Alan, Summers, Robert, and Aten, Bettina. 2012. Penn World Table Version 7.1, Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income, and Prices at the University of Pennsylvania. https://pwt.sas.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt_index.php (accessed August 1, 2012).Google Scholar
Huber, Evelyn, and Stephens, John. 2012. Democracy and the Left. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch. 2012. Tightening the Grip: Concentration and the Abuse of Power in Chávez's Venezuela. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/07/17/tightening-grip-0 (accessed August 1, 2012).Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel P. 1968. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
InflationData.com. 2012. “Historical Oil Prices Table.” Capital Professional Services, LLC. http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_rate/Historical_Oil_Prices_Table.asp (accessed August 15, 2012).Google Scholar
Karl, Terry Lynn. 1997. The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Robert R. 2011. “The Political Left, The Export Boom, and the Populist Temptation.” In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth M.. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 93116.Google Scholar
Kornblith, Miriam. 2005. “Elections versus Democracy.” Journal of Democracy 16(1): 124–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kornblith, Miriam, and Levine, Daniel H.. 1995. “Venezuela: The Life and Times of the Party System.” In Building Democratic Institutions: Parties and Party Systems in Latin America, ed. Mainwaring, Scott and Scully, Timothy. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 3771.Google Scholar
Kuran, Timur. 1991. “Now out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989.” World Politics 44(1): 748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Latinobarometro Corporation. 2011. “Latinobarometro/Latinobarometer Data Files.” http://www.latinobarometro.org/latino/latinobarometro.jsp (accessed August 15, 2012).Google Scholar
Levine, Daniel H. 1973. Conflict and Political Change in Venezuela. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Levitsky, Steven, and Way, Lucan. 2010. Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linz, Juan J. 1978. The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Crisis, Breakdown and Reequilibration. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Lopez Maya, Margarita. 2011. “Venezuela: Hugo Chávez and the Populist Left.” In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth M.. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 213–38.Google Scholar
Lupu, Noam. 2012. “Brand Dilution and the Breakdown of Political Parties in Latin America.” Presented at Annual Meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Mahoney, James, and Snyder, Richard. 1999. “Rethinking Agency and Structure in the Study of Regime Change.” Studies in Comparative International Development 34(2): 332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott, Brinks, Daniel, and Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal. 2007. “Classifying Political Regimes in Latin America, 1945–2004.” In Regimes and Democracy in Latin America: Theories and Methods, ed. Munck, Gerardo. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 123–60.Google Scholar
Mayorga, René. N.d.Populismo radical y el desmontaje de la democracia.” Forthcoming.Google Scholar
Murillo, María Victoria, Oliveros, Virginia, and Vaishnav, Milan. 2011. “Economic Constraints and Presidential Agency.” In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth M.. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 5270.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo. 1993. “On the State, Democratization, and Some Conceptual Problems: A Latin American View with Glances at some Postcommunist Countries.” World Development 21(8): 1355–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo. 1994. “Delegative Democracy.” Journal of Demoracy 5(1): 5669.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo, and Schmitter, Philippe. 1986. Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Pateman, Carole. 2012. “Participatory Democracy Revisited.” Perspectives on Politics 10(1): 719.Google Scholar
Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal. 2007. Presidential Impeachment and the New Political Instability in Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal, and Mainwaring, Scott. N.d.Regime Legacies and Levels of Democracy: Evidence from Latin America.” Comparative Politics. Forthcoming.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam, Alvarez, Michael E., Cheibub, José Antonio, and Limongi, Fernando. 2000. Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World, 1050–1990. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodríguez, Francisco. 2008. “An Empty Revolution: The Unfulfilled Promises of Hugo Chávez.” Foreign Affairs, March/April: 4962.Google Scholar
Stepan, Alfred. 1978. “Political Leadership and Regime Breakdown: Brazil.” In The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Latin America, ed. Linz, Juan J. and Stepan, Alfred. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 110–37.Google Scholar
Tanaka, Martín. 1998. Los espejismos de la democracia: El colapso del sistema de partidos en el Perú. Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.Google Scholar
Tanaka, Martín. 2006. “From Crisis to Collapse of the Party System and Dilemmas of Democratic Representation: Peru and Venezuela.” In The Crisis of Democratic Representation in the Andes, ed. Mainwaring, Scott et al. Standford: Standford University Press, 4777.Google Scholar
Trinkunas, Harold, and McCoy, Jennifer. 1999. Observation of the 1998 Venezuelan Elections: A Report of the Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government. Atlanta: Latin American and Caribbean Program, The Carter Center.Google Scholar
Wampler, Brian. 2007. Participatory Budgeting in Brazil: Contestation, Cooperation, and Accountability. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt. 2009. “The Rise of Latin America's Two Lefts: Insights from Rentier State Theory.” Comparative Politics 41(2): 145–64.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt. 2011. “The Left: Destroyer or Savior of the Market Model.” In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth M.. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 7192.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt, Madrid, Raúl L., and Hunter, Wendy, eds. 2010. Leftist Governments in Latin America: Successes and Shortcomings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank. 2012. World Development Indicators. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators (accessed August 15, 2012).Google Scholar