Clientelism and conceptual stretching: differentiating among concepts and among analytical levels

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 by confining it to the microsociological level will aid theory-building

Reproducing Neoliberalism: the power of Canada’s poor

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 global/local intersectional dialectic that locates the expansion of neoliberalism in global and individual sites without obscuring the various oppressions generated by restructuring

Negociar inclusão pelo clientelismo: democracias neoliberais, pobreza e desigualdade

Theoretically, rational-legal democracy and a neoliberal economy should discourage clientelism, yet clientelism remains widespread in Latin America. What are the roots of this disconnect between theory and reality? We argue that the continuation of clientelism is due in great part to the effects of neoliberal economic policies: the scarcity of state resources and increased levels of poverty and inequality. We further suggest that the intensity of clientelism should diminish when formal democratic institutions and economic systems are able to address poverty and inequality efficiently and responsively. We use Brazil as a case study to illustrate our point.Teóricamente, la democracia racional-legal y la economía neoliberal deberían desalentar el clientelismo, pero el clientelismo sigue estando muy extendido en América Latina. ¿Cuáles son las raíces de esta desconexión entre la teoría y la realidad? Argumentamos que la continuación del clientelismo se debe en gran parte a los efectos de las políticas económicas neoliberales: la escasez de recursos estatales y el aumento de los niveles de pobreza y desigualdad. Sugerimos además que la intensidad del clientelismo debería disminuir cuando las instituciones democráticas formales y los sistemas económicos sean capaces de abordar la pobreza y la desigualdad de manera eficiente y receptiva. Usamos a Brasil como un estudio de caso para ilustrar nuestra tesis.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

Causes and Consequences of Political Clientelism: Mexico's PRD in Comparative Perspective

PRD politicians and officials widely use clientelism to structure their relationships with citizens. This is not only due to the entrenchment of clientelism in Mexican politics, or to high rates of poverty and inequality, but also to the limited institutionalization of democratic rules inside the party. The latter stems largely from the party’s electoral strategy in its formative years and has resulted in uncontrolled factional battles that play out through clientelism. The Brazilian PT faced external and internal conditions quite similar to those of the PRD, but its early focus on organization building and policy change allowed it to avoid clientelism to a greater degree. The analysis problematizes the trend of using minimalist definitions that assume clientelism to be non-democratic because these result in conceptual stretching and decreased explanatory power

The Role of Organized Labour in Latin American Democratization Processes

The comparative literature dealing with regime transItIon in Latin America since the 1970s has viewed critically the role of civil society, particularly organized labour, in promoting democracy. While seen as positive for furthering democratization and liberalization during early transitional stages, subsequent mass popular action has been considered an endangerment to the stability of democratization. The time is ripe to reconsider the value of a dynamic civil society -exemplified by organized labour - in achieving quality democracy in Latin America. Specifically, since socioeconomic equality and inclusiveness are key aspects of quality democracy, it is not feasible to assume that this can be achieved without concerted efforts from those sectors that have been immobilized and excluded in current low quality Latin American democracies

La relation complexe entre clientélisme et démocratie

Si le clientélisme, l’achat de votes, le patronage et les autres échanges personnels de même nature ont des répercussions négatives sur la démocratie, la chaîne de causalité n’est pas unidirectionnelle. Dans maintes démocraties en émergence, la précarité des assises du régime et la réactivité erratique du gouvernement dans des économies stagnantes incitent les politiciens et les électeurs à recourir aux échanges personnels. Or, lorsque les acteurs s’en remettent aux échanges personnels pour combler les brèches dans la représentation et la réactivité, ils choisissent des méthodes qui vont à l’encontre de la consolidation des institutions démocratiques, sans toutefois accepter l’asservissement à l’autorité. La dynamique des échanges personnels accompagne des changements sociopolitiques de plus grande envergure et ces échanges sont plus ou moins négociables et participatifs, selon le contexte. La présente étude vise à examiner cette dynamique au moyen de l’étude du cas de la ville de Mexico, où les gouvernements du Parti révolutionnaire démocratique (PRD) et leurs électeurs s’emploient à promouvoir la démocratie et l’égalité, tout en se livrant à des échanges personnels.Clientelism, vote-buying, patronage, and other such personal exchanges have a negative effect on democracy, but the chain of causality is not unidirectional. In many developing democracies, weak regime consolidation and erratic government responsiveness in stagnant economies motivate politicians and voters to use personal exchanges. When actors opt for personal exchanges to fill gaps in representation and responsiveness, they are choosing methods at odds with the consolidation of democratic institutions, but they are not surrendering to authoritarian subjugation. The dynamics of personal exchanges accompany broader sociopolitical changes and are negotiable and participatory to a degree dependent on their context. This paper seeks to analyze these dynamics through a case study of Mexico City, where the governments of the Democratic Revolutionary Party and their constituents champion democracy and equality, while also engaging in personal exchanges

Mexican Labour Politics at a Critical Juncture

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