Diminished Parties

Democratic Representation in Contemporary Latin America

Juan Pablo Luna, Rafael Piñeiro Rodríguez, Fernando Rosenblatt, Gabriel Vommaro

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781316513187
• eBook ISBN:
  9781009081795
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Many contemporary party organizations are failing to fulfill their representational role in contemporary democracies. While political scientists tend to rely on a minimalist definition of political parties (groups of candidates that compete in elections), this volume argues that this misses how parties can differ not only in degree but also in kind. With a new typology of political parties, the authors provide a new analytical tool to address the role of political parties in democratic functioning and political representation. The empirical chapters apply the conceptual framework to analyze seventeen parties across Latin America. The authors are established scholars expert in comparative politics and in the cases included in the volume. The book sets an agenda for future research on parties and representation, and it will appeal to those concerned with the challenges of consolidating stable and programmatic party systems in developing democracies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Case of Uruguay’s Frente Amplio
• 3 Horizontal Coordination and Vertical Aggregation Mechanisms of the PRO in Argentina and Its Subnational Variations
• 4 Bolivia’s Movement toward Socialism: A Political Party Based on and Anchored in Social Movements
• 5 The Complex Interaction between Vertical Interest Aggregation and Horizontal Coordination: The PRD and MORENA in Mexico
• 6 PLN and PAC: Two Costa Rican Parties with Constituencies Evolving in Opposite Directions
• 7 The Case of the Traditional Parties in Paraguay
• 8 The Colombian Liberal Party and Conservative Party: From Political Parties to Diminished Subtypes
• 9 “Normal” Parties in Extraordinary Times: The Case of Primero Justicia and Voluntad Popular in Venezuela
• 10 Diminished by Design: Ecuador’s Alianza PAIS
• 11 The Chilean PPD: A Loose Confederation of Leaders
• 12 Fujimorismo and the Limits of Democratic Representation in Peru, 2006–2020
• 13 The Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza: Guatemala’s Only True Political Party?
• 14 Conclusions
• References
• Name Index
• Organization Index
• Subject Index