Failed Democracies in Latin America and the Caribbean: Democratic Purgatory and the Viability of Consolidated Democratic Regimes

✍ Scribed by Christopher M. Brown

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 265
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book addresses the breakdown of failed democratic systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. The scope of this investigation is a study of political systems of Venezuela, Colombia, and Nicaragua. The implications of the present research on democratic purgatory have real-world applications not only for the above countries but also for those political systems that are currently transitioning and/or consolidating their democracies as well.

✦ Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
About This Book
Contents
About the Author
List of Tables
1 Introduction to Democratic Purgatory
Setting the Stage
The Inviolability of Consolidation
Democratic Failures During Transition
Democratic Breakdowns in the Literature
Outlining a Heuristic
Why Venezuela?
Legitimacy and Effectiveness
Building Theory
The Plan of the Book
Notes
Bibliography
2 Democracy’s End: A Tale of Two Referenda
Dreams, Deferred
Punto Fijo’s Last Stand
A Tale of Two Democracies
The Only Game in Town
Same Game, New Rules
Democratic Breakdown Through Democratic Means
Notes
Bibliography
3 Operationalizing Democratization
Points of Departure
Operationalizing Democracy
Architects of the New World Order
The Experience of Modernization
Breaking It Down: Transitologists and Stages of Transition
The Transitions Project
Democratization and Consolidation
Tracing the Ideal
Notes
Bibliography
4 The Blueprint for Democratization
Influence of Prior Regime Type
Authoritarian Regimes
Regime Solidarity
Regime Disunity
On Liberalization
The Ruling Elites
“Modes of Transition” from Authoritarian Rule
How Political Systems Transition (in the Abstract)
Foundational Pacts
Democratic Consolidation
Becoming Consolidated
Democratic Failures
Break Down from Democratic External Pressures
Democratic Breakdown by Internal Pressures
Reconciling Democratic Breakdowns
Notes
Bibliography
5 From Exemplar to Pariah: The Heuristic Case of Venezuela’s Breakdown
From Exemplar to Pariah
Illustrative Case Study of Venezuela
Pre-Democratic History in Brief: Nation-State Building
Liberalization to Democratization (1935–1958)
Failed Democratic Experiment and Democratic Learning
Pacted Transition: The Pacts of Punto Fijo
Foundational Pact of Venezuelan Democracy
Accommodation and Exclusion
Democratization (1959–1973)
Rules of the Game
Democratic Elections and Power Transfers
Consolidation
Democracy in the Consolidation Phase (1974–1987)
Deepening Democracy
Democratic Breakdown (1987–1998)
Chavismo (1998–2000s)
Notes
Bibliography
6 Institutionalizing Instability: Prologue to a Farce or Tragedy
Venezuela as a Failed Democracy
Venezuela as Another Latin American “Democracy”
Five Patterns of Democratic Breakdown
Why Venezuelan Democracy Failed
Structural/Economic Factors
Political/Institutional Factors
Political Cultural/Political Learning Factors
Democratic Failure Through Democratic Means
Democratic Purgatory
Democratic Breakdown in Venezuela
Wither Representation?
Notes
Bibliography
7 The Long Shadow of Colombia’s National Front Era
Chapter Overview
Introduction to Colombian Political Development
Independence
War of the Supremos
Nueva Granada to La Rebelión
The War of the Thousand Days to La Violencia
Modernization and Internationalization
La Violencia
Classical Dictatorship
The National Front Era
Consolidation of Democratic Purgatory
Convivencia, Again
Democratization
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
8 Democratic Purgatory and Dictatorships in Nicaragua
Chapter Overview
Introduction to Nicaraguan Political Development
Spanish Governance
Independence
Foreign Intervention in the Age of Imperialism
The Rise of the Nicaraguan National Guard
Somoza and Civil War
Family Legacy
1972 Earthquake and Corruption
Sandinistas and Civil War
Transitional Government
American Obstructionism and the Contra War
Democratic Transition: Foundational Election of 1984
Turnover of Party Control in the Election of 1990
Democratic Consolidation: Two-Turnover Test
Democratic Breakdown
Orteguismo: Sultanism in Nicaragua
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
9 Democratic Purgatory
Introduction to Democratic Purgatory
Democracy’s Structure of Representation
Modeling Democratic Purgatory
Phases of Democratization: Democratic Purgatory
Phase One: Transitions from Authoritarian Rule
Phase Two: Honeymoon/Learning Phase
Phase Three: Institutionalization
Institutionalizing Instability
Democratic Regime Types
Type A: Legitimate and Effective (Toward Consolidated Democracy)
Type B: Legitimate and Not Effective (Transitional Democracy)
Type C: Effective, But Not Legitimate (Democratic Purgatory)
Type D: Not Effective and Not Legitimate (Proto-Democracy or Twilight Democracy)
Phase Four: Consolidation of Regime Types
Consolidating Democratic Purgatory Regimes
Notes
Bibliography
10 Conclusion: Representing the General Will
The Right to Govern
Situating the Study Within a Larger Context
Democratic Breakdowns Revisited
Notes
Bibliography
Index