Teoricamente, a democracia racional-legal e a economia neoliberal deveriam desencorajar o cliente... more Teoricamente, a democracia racional-legal e a economia neoliberal deveriam desencorajar o clientelismo, mas o clientelismo continua difundido na América Latina. Quais são as raízes dessa desconexão entre teoria e realidade? Defendemos que a continuidade do clientelismo se deve em grande parte aos efeitos das políticas econômicas neoliberais: a escassez de recursos estatais e o aumento dos níveis de pobreza e desigualdade. Sugerimos ainda que a intensidade do clientelismo deve diminuir quando as instituições democráticas formais e os sistemas econômicos forem capazes de lidar com a pobreza e a desigualdade de forma eficiente e responsiva. Usamos o Brasil como estudo de caso para ilustrar a nossa tese.
This article constructs an understanding of the Brazilian middle classes using economic, sociolog... more This article constructs an understanding of the Brazilian middle classes using economic, sociological, and cultural factors. It argues that the so-called new middle class is actually an expanded vulnerable class, and that the middle classes are simultaneously conscious and in denial of injustice toward the lower classes. The argument is based on an accidental biographical ethnography: reinterpretation of a field journal and the use of one person to understand broader trends. The resulting textual product juxtaposes biographical passages with theoretical analysis, deviating from traditional article structures to share the voice of the biographical participant while also critically examining the implications of this voice.
Late one night in Quito, Ecuador, two women were held in the office of a jail. One, a pregnant lo... more Late one night in Quito, Ecuador, two women were held in the office of a jail. One, a pregnant local woman with dark hair and skin, had been found in possession of a drawer full of watches. She covered her face as a police officer repeatedly pepper sprayed and berated her, demanding to know how she came by the watches. He complained that he could not throw her in a cell and be done with her because of her condition. The other woman, a white foreigner, had been arrested outside a nightclub for not carrying valid personal identification. An officer tried to intimidate her, threatening to put her “in the back” with other detainees – “they’ll kill you back there.” She did not take him very seriously and was released when an Ecuadorian friend turned up with cash to pay off the officers.2 This anecdote highlights not only that the police in the Americas (as in many other parts of the world) often behave unethically, but also that (in)security means different things for different people. T...
Out of the Shadows: Political Action and the Informal Economy in Latin America. Edited by Patrici... more Out of the Shadows: Political Action and the Informal Economy in Latin America. Edited by Patricia Fernández-Kelly and Jon Shefner. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006. Pp. 280. $75.00 cloth. Informal Institutions and Democracy: Lessons from Latin America. Edited by Gretchen Helmke and Steven Levitsky. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2006. Pp. 351. $25.00 paper. Patrons, Clients, and Policies: Patterns of Democratic Accountability and Political Competition. Edited by Herbert Kitschelt and Steven J. Wilkinson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pp. 377. $96.00 cloth.
ABSTRACTIn theory, security and resilience in contexts of violence and crime are improved by part... more ABSTRACTIn theory, security and resilience in contexts of violence and crime are improved by participatory urban upgrading. Yet, upgrading practices actually demonstrate how vulnerabilities to violence, insecurity and crime are reproduced by state–society and intra‐community power hierarchies. On the one hand, the priorities and perspectives of politicians and bureaucrats continue to take precedence over the needs and demands of residents of marginalized communities, undermining participation. On the other hand, the internal socio‐political structures of marginalized communities complicate the capacity and willingness of residents and external state actors to engage with each other. The result is that upgrading programmes are not particularly successful in ordering development and security or in creating resilience. Internal processes have a greater impact on residents’ choices in their daily struggles to survive and thrive, but the resilience they create is limited because power an...
Clientelism in Everyday Latin American Politics, 2012
The central question in this volume is what is the relationship between clientelism and democracy... more The central question in this volume is what is the relationship between clientelism and democracy? The traditional answer to this question has been that clientelism is a vestige of authoritarian regimes that undermines democratic institutions and processes (see the discussion in Roniger 1994b). In the view of the contributors to this volume, the dynamics of clientelism and democracy on the ground are more complex. In third-wave countries with developing economies, the realities of doing politics while coping with markets whose benefits are not broadly accessible are far from the democratic ideals of equality, universality, and participation. Formal democratic rules are implanted in deeply unequal societies, in which the poor are socially and politically marginalized as a result of scarce economic opportunities, and the state is faced with continuous fiscal shortages and real or potential political instability. In the context of uncertainty, actors often prefer the use of personal relationships, such as clientelism, that create predictability, to trusting the doubtful outcome of formal channels.
Clientelism in Everyday Latin American Politics, 2012
The vast literature on clientelism is marked by the struggle to explain the difference between th... more The vast literature on clientelism is marked by the struggle to explain the difference between the formal, impersonal. and universally applicable channels and institutions that are identified with democracy in theory—and ostensibly implanted in practice—and the more personalized exchanges (ranging from benign to sinister) that occur in real politics, all efforts to eliminate them to the contrary. Searching for the causes and effects of these exchanges is crucial to understand political realities and to improve the development and practical application of theoretical ideals. However, the concept misformation (to cite Sartori 1970) or—more aptly, in this case—deformation that has occurred in the evolution of research into clientelism does not aid the cause.
Based on the varying views of power under neoliberalism, the literature draws divergent conclusio... more Based on the varying views of power under neoliberalism, the literature draws divergent conclusions regarding its quality as a policy approach. Neoliberal economic restructuring is generally regarded as positive by the conservative public choice school, as positive by some Weberians and negative by others, and as overwhelmingly negative by Marxians and feminists. Critics usually present restructuring as something that is happening "to" us, that is presented to us as a fait accompli, handed down by bureaucrats and elected officials influenced by international business. This view obscures the role of the average citizen in pushing restructuring forward, not only in allowing it to happen, but also in actively performing it. In response, this paper suggests a focus on individual actors at the local level that locates the expansion of neoliberalism in intersecting global and institutional, as well as in individual sites, without obscuring the various oppressions generated by restructuring.
The concept of clientelism has lost descriptive power. It has become indistinguishable from neigh... more The concept of clientelism has lost descriptive power. It has become indistinguishable from neighboring concepts and is applied across analytical levels. Using Gerring's (1999) characterization of a 'good' concept, I establish the core attributes of clientelism, which, in addition to being an interest-maximizing exchange, involves longevity, diffuseness, face-to-face contact, and inequality. Using secondary sources and fieldwork data, I differentiate clientelism from concepts such as vote-buying and corruption and determine its analytical position at the microsociological level. I argue that labeling sociopolitical systems as clientelistic is awkward since, operating at a higher analytical level, they have characteristics beyond microsociological clientelism and they affect the political nature of the clientelism they contain. I conclude that differentiating clientelism confining it to the microsociological level will aid theory-building.
in 2008, her insights in this regard are limited to noting a novel official position associating ... more in 2008, her insights in this regard are limited to noting a novel official position associating public health with social justice, alongside obdurate medical attitudes linking illness and behaviour. Cancer care as part of the signature Misión Barrio Adentro programme for impoverished urban areas, and its fate amidst the worsening crisis of the Maduro regime, fall outside the scope of this interesting study, hopefully not for long.
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have now had 20 years of experience with community policing... more Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have now had 20 years of experience with community policing programmes (COP), yet high rates of public crime and violence, police violence and corruption, as well as public distrust of the police continue. The introduction to this special issue frames a set of contributions that, together, tell the story of COP's problems and promise in the region. It argues that, in Latin America and the Caribbean, COP is often locally and regionally (mis)appropriated in ways that challenge common assumptions both of what COP is and of what it can be in contemporary highly unequal politico-economic systems. Indeed, regional and local specificities mean that COP has been used as much to legitimise harsh policing tactics, as it has been used to undertake serious reforms. At the same time, there are directions for general improvements that have the potential of a wide impact.
The objective of this paper is to explore a much-discussed avenue for public participation in dev... more The objective of this paper is to explore a much-discussed avenue for public participation in developing Latin American democracies1: the political party. Of late, the party as a principal articulator of citizen interests has been said to be in demise (Diamond and Gunther, 2001: ix; Gunther and Diamond, 2001: 3; Schmitter, 2001: 70). It is argued that the new vehicles of democratic participation in developing Latin American countries are a plethora of New Social Movements (NSMs): local groups or organizations individually struggling for recognition of their cultural, ethnic, gender, sexual, or environmental identity. Where political parties once acted as centralized demand aggregators and representative agencies, these functions are now becoming more and more decentralized, allowing for greater direct participation on the part of citizens in political processes (see Schmitter, 2001: 69-72). Through their mere existence, NSMs are creating more democratic administration: they are empo...
This article reviews the current political situation of Mexican organized labour and the academic... more This article reviews the current political situation of Mexican organized labour and the academic debate regarding unions' relevance to Mexican democracy, drawing attention to the importance of Federal Labour Law reform. With the 1997 parliamentary elections, Mexico entered a critical juncture of regime change. Civil society's - particularly labour's - participation in policy-making is crucial to the establishment of inclusive political structures beyond the electoral arena, to stabilize this fledgling democracy. Given labour's political weakness leading up to, and potential representational importance at, this critical juncture, I suggest that the participation of both official and independent labour in the mesa working to craft Federal Labour Code reform provides an important reference point for studies of the quality of Mexican democracy.
Teoricamente, a democracia racional-legal e a economia neoliberal deveriam desencorajar o cliente... more Teoricamente, a democracia racional-legal e a economia neoliberal deveriam desencorajar o clientelismo, mas o clientelismo continua difundido na América Latina. Quais são as raízes dessa desconexão entre teoria e realidade? Defendemos que a continuidade do clientelismo se deve em grande parte aos efeitos das políticas econômicas neoliberais: a escassez de recursos estatais e o aumento dos níveis de pobreza e desigualdade. Sugerimos ainda que a intensidade do clientelismo deve diminuir quando as instituições democráticas formais e os sistemas econômicos forem capazes de lidar com a pobreza e a desigualdade de forma eficiente e responsiva. Usamos o Brasil como estudo de caso para ilustrar a nossa tese.
This article constructs an understanding of the Brazilian middle classes using economic, sociolog... more This article constructs an understanding of the Brazilian middle classes using economic, sociological, and cultural factors. It argues that the so-called new middle class is actually an expanded vulnerable class, and that the middle classes are simultaneously conscious and in denial of injustice toward the lower classes. The argument is based on an accidental biographical ethnography: reinterpretation of a field journal and the use of one person to understand broader trends. The resulting textual product juxtaposes biographical passages with theoretical analysis, deviating from traditional article structures to share the voice of the biographical participant while also critically examining the implications of this voice.
Late one night in Quito, Ecuador, two women were held in the office of a jail. One, a pregnant lo... more Late one night in Quito, Ecuador, two women were held in the office of a jail. One, a pregnant local woman with dark hair and skin, had been found in possession of a drawer full of watches. She covered her face as a police officer repeatedly pepper sprayed and berated her, demanding to know how she came by the watches. He complained that he could not throw her in a cell and be done with her because of her condition. The other woman, a white foreigner, had been arrested outside a nightclub for not carrying valid personal identification. An officer tried to intimidate her, threatening to put her “in the back” with other detainees – “they’ll kill you back there.” She did not take him very seriously and was released when an Ecuadorian friend turned up with cash to pay off the officers.2 This anecdote highlights not only that the police in the Americas (as in many other parts of the world) often behave unethically, but also that (in)security means different things for different people. T...
Out of the Shadows: Political Action and the Informal Economy in Latin America. Edited by Patrici... more Out of the Shadows: Political Action and the Informal Economy in Latin America. Edited by Patricia Fernández-Kelly and Jon Shefner. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006. Pp. 280. $75.00 cloth. Informal Institutions and Democracy: Lessons from Latin America. Edited by Gretchen Helmke and Steven Levitsky. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2006. Pp. 351. $25.00 paper. Patrons, Clients, and Policies: Patterns of Democratic Accountability and Political Competition. Edited by Herbert Kitschelt and Steven J. Wilkinson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pp. 377. $96.00 cloth.
ABSTRACTIn theory, security and resilience in contexts of violence and crime are improved by part... more ABSTRACTIn theory, security and resilience in contexts of violence and crime are improved by participatory urban upgrading. Yet, upgrading practices actually demonstrate how vulnerabilities to violence, insecurity and crime are reproduced by state–society and intra‐community power hierarchies. On the one hand, the priorities and perspectives of politicians and bureaucrats continue to take precedence over the needs and demands of residents of marginalized communities, undermining participation. On the other hand, the internal socio‐political structures of marginalized communities complicate the capacity and willingness of residents and external state actors to engage with each other. The result is that upgrading programmes are not particularly successful in ordering development and security or in creating resilience. Internal processes have a greater impact on residents’ choices in their daily struggles to survive and thrive, but the resilience they create is limited because power an...
Clientelism in Everyday Latin American Politics, 2012
The central question in this volume is what is the relationship between clientelism and democracy... more The central question in this volume is what is the relationship between clientelism and democracy? The traditional answer to this question has been that clientelism is a vestige of authoritarian regimes that undermines democratic institutions and processes (see the discussion in Roniger 1994b). In the view of the contributors to this volume, the dynamics of clientelism and democracy on the ground are more complex. In third-wave countries with developing economies, the realities of doing politics while coping with markets whose benefits are not broadly accessible are far from the democratic ideals of equality, universality, and participation. Formal democratic rules are implanted in deeply unequal societies, in which the poor are socially and politically marginalized as a result of scarce economic opportunities, and the state is faced with continuous fiscal shortages and real or potential political instability. In the context of uncertainty, actors often prefer the use of personal relationships, such as clientelism, that create predictability, to trusting the doubtful outcome of formal channels.
Clientelism in Everyday Latin American Politics, 2012
The vast literature on clientelism is marked by the struggle to explain the difference between th... more The vast literature on clientelism is marked by the struggle to explain the difference between the formal, impersonal. and universally applicable channels and institutions that are identified with democracy in theory—and ostensibly implanted in practice—and the more personalized exchanges (ranging from benign to sinister) that occur in real politics, all efforts to eliminate them to the contrary. Searching for the causes and effects of these exchanges is crucial to understand political realities and to improve the development and practical application of theoretical ideals. However, the concept misformation (to cite Sartori 1970) or—more aptly, in this case—deformation that has occurred in the evolution of research into clientelism does not aid the cause.
Based on the varying views of power under neoliberalism, the literature draws divergent conclusio... more Based on the varying views of power under neoliberalism, the literature draws divergent conclusions regarding its quality as a policy approach. Neoliberal economic restructuring is generally regarded as positive by the conservative public choice school, as positive by some Weberians and negative by others, and as overwhelmingly negative by Marxians and feminists. Critics usually present restructuring as something that is happening "to" us, that is presented to us as a fait accompli, handed down by bureaucrats and elected officials influenced by international business. This view obscures the role of the average citizen in pushing restructuring forward, not only in allowing it to happen, but also in actively performing it. In response, this paper suggests a focus on individual actors at the local level that locates the expansion of neoliberalism in intersecting global and institutional, as well as in individual sites, without obscuring the various oppressions generated by restructuring.
The concept of clientelism has lost descriptive power. It has become indistinguishable from neigh... more The concept of clientelism has lost descriptive power. It has become indistinguishable from neighboring concepts and is applied across analytical levels. Using Gerring's (1999) characterization of a 'good' concept, I establish the core attributes of clientelism, which, in addition to being an interest-maximizing exchange, involves longevity, diffuseness, face-to-face contact, and inequality. Using secondary sources and fieldwork data, I differentiate clientelism from concepts such as vote-buying and corruption and determine its analytical position at the microsociological level. I argue that labeling sociopolitical systems as clientelistic is awkward since, operating at a higher analytical level, they have characteristics beyond microsociological clientelism and they affect the political nature of the clientelism they contain. I conclude that differentiating clientelism confining it to the microsociological level will aid theory-building.
in 2008, her insights in this regard are limited to noting a novel official position associating ... more in 2008, her insights in this regard are limited to noting a novel official position associating public health with social justice, alongside obdurate medical attitudes linking illness and behaviour. Cancer care as part of the signature Misión Barrio Adentro programme for impoverished urban areas, and its fate amidst the worsening crisis of the Maduro regime, fall outside the scope of this interesting study, hopefully not for long.
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have now had 20 years of experience with community policing... more Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have now had 20 years of experience with community policing programmes (COP), yet high rates of public crime and violence, police violence and corruption, as well as public distrust of the police continue. The introduction to this special issue frames a set of contributions that, together, tell the story of COP's problems and promise in the region. It argues that, in Latin America and the Caribbean, COP is often locally and regionally (mis)appropriated in ways that challenge common assumptions both of what COP is and of what it can be in contemporary highly unequal politico-economic systems. Indeed, regional and local specificities mean that COP has been used as much to legitimise harsh policing tactics, as it has been used to undertake serious reforms. At the same time, there are directions for general improvements that have the potential of a wide impact.
The objective of this paper is to explore a much-discussed avenue for public participation in dev... more The objective of this paper is to explore a much-discussed avenue for public participation in developing Latin American democracies1: the political party. Of late, the party as a principal articulator of citizen interests has been said to be in demise (Diamond and Gunther, 2001: ix; Gunther and Diamond, 2001: 3; Schmitter, 2001: 70). It is argued that the new vehicles of democratic participation in developing Latin American countries are a plethora of New Social Movements (NSMs): local groups or organizations individually struggling for recognition of their cultural, ethnic, gender, sexual, or environmental identity. Where political parties once acted as centralized demand aggregators and representative agencies, these functions are now becoming more and more decentralized, allowing for greater direct participation on the part of citizens in political processes (see Schmitter, 2001: 69-72). Through their mere existence, NSMs are creating more democratic administration: they are empo...
This article reviews the current political situation of Mexican organized labour and the academic... more This article reviews the current political situation of Mexican organized labour and the academic debate regarding unions' relevance to Mexican democracy, drawing attention to the importance of Federal Labour Law reform. With the 1997 parliamentary elections, Mexico entered a critical juncture of regime change. Civil society's - particularly labour's - participation in policy-making is crucial to the establishment of inclusive political structures beyond the electoral arena, to stabilize this fledgling democracy. Given labour's political weakness leading up to, and potential representational importance at, this critical juncture, I suggest that the participation of both official and independent labour in the mesa working to craft Federal Labour Code reform provides an important reference point for studies of the quality of Mexican democracy.
Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean is no longer perpetrated primarily by states against ... more Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean is no longer perpetrated primarily by states against their citizens, but by a variety of state and non-state actors struggling to control resources, territories, and populations. This book examines violence at the subnational level to illuminate how practices of violence are embedded within subnational configurations of space and clientelistic networks. In societies shaped by centuries of violence and exclusion, inequality and marginalization prevail at the same time that democratization and neoliberalism have decentralized power to regional and local levels, where democratic and authoritarian practices coexist. Within subnational arenas, unique configurations - of historical legacies, economic structures, identities, institutions, actors, and clientelistic networks - result in particular patterns of violence and vulnerability that are often strikingly different from what is portrayed by aggregate national-level statistics. The chapters of this book examine critical cases from across the region, drawing on new primary data collected in the field to analyze how a range of political actors and institutions shape people's lives and to connect structural and physical forms of violence.
In Latin America and beyond, societies are deeply unequal, the poor are marginalized, and states ... more In Latin America and beyond, societies are deeply unequal, the poor are marginalized, and states face continuous fiscal shortages and real or potential political instability. In this context, democracy functions imperfectly. It intermeshes with clientelism, with the incongruous result that clientelism not only erodes but also accompanies and supplements democratic processes. Armed with evidence of these complex interactions, Clientelism in Everyday Latin American Politics improves understandings of how and why clientelism endures and why state policy is often ineffective. Political scientists and sociologists, the contributors employ ethnography, targeted interviews, case studies, within-case and regional comparison, thick descriptions, and process tracing. They write from political economy and institutionalist as well as principle-centered and agent-centered perspectives.
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Papers by Tina Hilgers