Class/race polarisation in Venezuela and the electoral success of Hugo Chávez: a break with the past or the song remains the same?

Polls have repeatedly shown a class based polarisation around Chávez, which some political science analysis on Venezuela has recognised. This paper seeks to show, however, that this class based division needs to be placed in historical context to be fully understood. Examining Venezuelan history from the colonial to the contemporary era the paper shows, unlike most previous work on Bolivarian Venezuela, that race is an important subtext to this class based support, and that there is indeed a correlation between class and race within the Venezuelan context. Furthermore, class and race are important positive elements in Chávez’s discourse, contrasting this with their negative use in opposition anti-Chavismo discourse. Finally the paper briefly reviews the Chávez government’s policy in tackling the class/race fissures in Venezuelan society, and concludes by asking whether these policies represent a change in the historical patterns of classism and racism within Venezuelan society or are simply reproducing past patterns

The Latin American right in historical perspective: class, race, power.

The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, it seeks to provide an integrated, holistic and historically grounded characterization of the Latin American Right based on a review of dominant philosophical and ideological theories, the formation of the Latin American oligarchy, and the development of political organization from the Conquest until the onset of neoliberalism at the end of 1970s. Second, it will examine the social and political impacts of neoliberalism to ascertain its influence on current power strategies of the Right, including that of the ‘pink tide’ phenomenon of Left and Left of Centre governments, currently dominating Latin America. In this way the paper hopes to provide an historically grounded characterization of the Latin American Right in order to help contextualize national studies and provide indications of possible future trends within the Right based on that characterization

Populism and the 'Pathologies of rational choice theory'

This paper questions the orthodox institutionalist perspective and its reliance on rational choice theory in the literature on Latin American populism. Examining two articles on populism by Kurt Weyland and Kenneth M. Roberts, it argues that this dependence on rational choice theory promotes an overemphasis on elite leadership to the detriment of ideology and popular agency. Using a Marxist perspective, based on Laclau (2005) and using two case studies, President Fujimori of Peru (1990-2001) and President Chávez of Venezuela (1999-present), this paper argues that movements articulated with neoliberalism have much lower levels of popular involvement, while those influenced by socialism have a greater balance between populist leadership and bases, hence proving that ideology does have a determining impact on populist formations

From Chávez to Trump, must we really talk about populism?

There has been a surge in academic and media interest in populism, fuelled mainly by the election of Donald Trump. But as misleading comparisons with Venezuela's Hugo Chávez show, the concept obscures more than it illuminates, while also marginalising any challenge to a dysfunctional "moderate centre", writes Barry Cannon (Maynooth University)

Wanted! ‘Strong publics’ for uncertain times. The experience of the Active Citizenship in Central America project.

This paper places the experiences of the Active Citizenship in Central America project led by Dublin City University within wider discussions on the role of civil society in building democracy and furthering development. The paper examines project development and content and assesses its effectiveness using a framework derived from Nancy Fraser’s (1993) concept of ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ publics. It finds that the project oscillates between both these positions, and makes policy recommendations to help move it closer to a ‘strong publics’ conception. The paper ends by asserting that in the current conjuncture a ‘strong publics’ conception is a useful guiding principle for the design of development projects on civil society

Populist leadership in the context of globalisation: a comparative study of President Chávez of Venezuela and ex-President Fujimori of Peru

This thesis is an examination of the similarities and differences between ex-President Alberto Fujimori of Peru and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela using the literature on populism to provide a comparative framework. It compares both presidents, in a qualitative manner, by examining the socio-political context in both countries, the causes for the emergence of both regimes, their ideological and programmatic characteristics, and the consequences they have or might have for their respective countries. The thesis is divided up into six chapters, with an Introduction and Conclusion. In the first chapter, the thesis examines the literature on populism in order to construct an analytic framework. The thesis then goes on, in the following chapter, to analyse the historical context from which both presidents emerged. In Chapter 3, the economic and social performance of each presidency is investigated and examined, assessing the extent to which each provides the popular classes of their respective countries with a means to participate in these areas of national life. The fourth chapter presents the strategies used by both presidents to gain and maintain power in their respective countries. The relative authoritarianism and democratic characteristics of each president in analysed and assessed in the following chapter, measuring also the extent to which the people of each country participate politically in their country's affairs. In the final chapter the impact and consequences of each president on the respective case countries is examined

Opposition in Bolivarian Venezuela: Caught Between Conflict and Compromise.

Abstract included in text

Opposition in Bolivarian Venezuela: Caught Between Conflict and Compromise.

Abstract included in text

Attitudes to and visions of civil society/state relations in Central America: implications for sustainable development

This paper will present results of a research project on civil society held in three Central American states, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras, in July and August, 2009, as part of the Irish Aid funded and DCU led Active Citizenship in Central America project. The paper is based on a wide range of events and interviews held in these three countries, with five distinct populations, many of them involved in the Active Citizenship Project: students of NGO Management and Municipal Leadership Diplomas funded by the project; university staff from the three partner and associate universities giving these courses; local NGO directors; local community groups; government officials. The main question framing these activities was: what is the current relation between the state and civil society in the three project countries in the context of the move to the left in Latin America? Results are examined in terms of future trends for civil society/state relations in these countries and their implications for sustainable development