Economic Elites, Political Parties and the Electoral Arena: Argentina, Chile and Uruguay in Comparative Perspective (Latin American Political Economy)

✍ Scribed by Felipe Monestier

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 204
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book delves into the intricate dynamics between economic elites and the political party system in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, particularly during their democratization phases in the twentieth century. It introduces a novel framework for comprehending the diverse political strategies adopted by these countries’ economic elites during this critical period. The central premise of this book is that the interplay between the cohesion of economic elites and the mobilization of popular sectors at specific historical junctures profoundly influences the nature of elite political involvement.

While existing literature has extensively discussed the strategies employed by economic elites to safeguard their interests, this book takes a fresh approach by considering three primary configurations of relationships between economic elites and political parties. It explores cases where economic elites are the primary constituency of parties they have founded, as well as instances where upper-class interests are predominantly defended outside the party system through mechanisms such as the armed forces, pressure groups, and lobbying. Additionally, it examines scenarios where economic elites align themselves with parties boasting a polyclass constituency, exerting limited influence over these parties.

This book goes beyond traditional analyses by proposing a theory that elucidates how the interaction between elite cohesion and popular sector mobilization determines the specific forms of elite political involvement. It also charts the historical sequences of this process, emphasizing the evolution of the causal relationship over time.

To illustrate this theory, the book employs a comparative historical analysis, scrutinizing the three aforementioned cases to identify factors that account for the different forms of economic elite political participation. It discerns that the level of cohesion among economic elites and the degree of mobilization among popular sectorsare pivotal factors shaping elite-party relationships.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Tables
1 Introduction
1.1 Economic elites and political power
1.2 The Puzzle
1.3 The Argument
1.4 The Method
References
2 An Explanation of Three Types of Links between Economic Elites and Parties
2.1 The Cohesion of Economic Elites
2.2 Mobilization of Popular Sectors
2.3 Causal Factors in Historical Junctures
2.3.1 The Independence Juncture
2.3.2 The First Democratization Juncture
References
3 Chile: Economic Elites with Their Own Parties
3.1 The Colonial Roots of Elite Cohesion
3.2 The Independence Juncture: Cohesive Elites and Popular Demobilization
3.3 A Long and Stable Oligarchic Order
3.4 Gradual Democratization: Cohesion Above and Demobilization Below
3.5 The Functional Stability of Elite Forms of Political Involvement
References
4 Argentina: Economic Elites Outside the Party System
4.1 Late Colonization and Territorial Fragmentation
4.2 The War of Independence: Fragmentation from Above, Mobilization from Below
4.3 The Long Road to Short-Lived Stability
4.4 Divided Elites, Popular Mobilization and Accelerated Democratization
4.5 Economic Elites and the Strategy of Politics Without Parties
References
5 Uruguay: Economic Elites Within Polyclass Parties
5.1 Colonial Roots of Elite Weakness
5.2 The Independence Process: Popular Mobilization and Volatile Elites
5.3 Economic Elites and the Birth of a Stable Party System
5.4 The Period of Incorporation, Democracy, and Social Reformism
5.5 Economic Elites, Polyclass Parties, and Democracy
References
6 Conclusions
References
References
Index