Suchergebnisse

Empirical evidence of how citizens around the world understand democracy highlights the predominance of the liberal model of democracy. Yet the existence of a dominant view does not mean that all citizens in every nation exclusively endorse a liberal conceptualization. Hence, this article asks whether public beliefs about the meaning of democracy affect people's political attitudes and behaviors. Using data from the 2006–2007 Latin American Public Opinion Project AmericasBarometer surveys, the author develops a taxonomy to categorize democratic conceptualizations in terms of structural complexity and substantive content. The author then examines the effects of the structure and substance of democratic conceptualizations on attitudes toward democracy and on patterns of political participation. Findings indicate that variance in the structure of citizens' democratic conceptualizations brings several effects on political attitudes and behaviors. As to the substantive content of democratic conceptualizations, conceiving of democracy in terms other than liberty influences numerous aspects of citizens' attitudes and behaviors.

AbstractThroughout Latin America, democratic political structures reflect liberal conceptualizations of democracy. Since the election of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela has emerged as an exception, with President Chávez sponsoring initiatives designed to foster participatory democracy. This article draws on the Venezuelan case in an effort to gain insight on the malleability of citizens' definitions of and attitudes toward democracy. Two key findings emerge. First, in data gathered ten years into the Chávez presidency, the vast majority of Venezuelans still define democracy in liberal terms, whereas relatively few have embraced participatory conceptualizations. Second, although Venezuelans as a whole are highly supportive of democracy as a form of government, no evidence is found that either support for Chávez or defining democracy in terms of participation corresponds with higher favorability toward democracy. Together, these findings suggest that Venezuela's political transformation has produced little or no discernible effect on mass sentiment regarding democracy.

The convergence of economic & political crises of the 1980s & 1990s contributed to the unraveling of Venezuela's representative democracy. As a result of these crises, mass dissatisfaction with the institutions & policies implemented by the Punto Fijo regime paved the way for the emergence of a charismatic leader who appealed to sectors previously excluded. Understanding the arrival of Chavez & consolidation of the Bolivarian political project cannot be fully understood without attention to the role of the urban poor. The economic crisis that began in the early 1980s heightened the urban poor concern with public policy. Despite the many policy initiatives designed in the Punto Fijo era to aid the urban poor, the interrelated developments of the 1983 economic crisis & the demise of Venezuela's two-party political system created discontent as the urban poor were sidelined from Venezuelan politics allowing Chavez to become figure around whom the urban poor could unite. The crumbling of Venezuela's two-party political system & diminished party control over politics & government paved the way for new perspectives to be heard. The unraveling of Punto Fijo democracy & the rise of the Bolivarian Republic sheds light on the dynamics of political and change occurring in polyarchies located in the gray zone. The Venezuelan experience confirms the thesis that a critical condition for the transition from limited pluralism to a hybrid regime has been the political transformation of the urban poor. Chavez's relationship with the urban poor is best depicted as a race against the clock in which, the prolonged honeymoon period of his presidency will not last indefinitely against the pragmatism of the urban poor. References. J. Harwell

AbstractThe election of Hugo Chávez as Venezuela's president in 1998, less than seven years after his unsuccessful military coup attempt, marked a pivotal moment in one of the most dramatic political transformations in the nation's history. This article explores public reaction to Chávez's shift, especially the question of why Venezuelans would entrust democratic governance to a man who had once attempted to topple the nation's democratic regime. Two hypotheses are proposed: one of converted militancy and one of democratic ambivalence. Analysis of survey data from 1995 and 1998 demonstrates that Chávez's initial base of support drew heavily on Venezuelans who were ambivalent or hostile toward democracy. By 1998, and consistent with the converted militant hypothesis, Chávez won support from a substantial portion of citizens who valued democracy. Yet democratic ambivalence also contributed to Chávez's winning electoral coalition.

The third wave of democratization has profoundly affected national political institutions and procedures throughout the developing world. In many nations, however, local political institutions and actors also hold considerable power. Democratic reforms at the national level are not necessarily replicated at the local level, yet democratization is inherently incomplete if a nation is speckled with scores of authoritarian local political enclaves. It follows that the process of subnational political change is of vital importance. In this article this process is examined, focusing on Mexico. The question is what dynamic has led to the erosion of the PRI's dominance at the municipal level since the mid-1980s. Two theoretical models, a diffusion model and a realignment model, are proposed. Empirical tests centre on data from municipal elections in four states for the period 1985 to 1998. Using event history analysis, substantial support for the diffusion model is discovered. In contrast, evidence consistent with the realignment model emerges in only one context – a state in which a new opposition party enjoyed unusual strength.