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The Resilience of the Latin American Right

edited by Juan Pablo Luna and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser

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This comparative study of Latin American conservative politics over the past twenty years analyzes right-of-center actors, electoral movements, parties, and economic policy dynamics.

Since the late 1990s, when Latin American countries began making a "turn to the left," political parties and candidates on the right end of the partisan spectrum have had a difficult time achieving electoral success. Although the left turn can be seen as a natural reaction to the public’s general dissatisfaction with the conservative modernization policies of the 1980s and 1990s, left-of-center politics are by no...

This comparative study of Latin American conservative politics over the past twenty years analyzes right-of-center actors, electoral movements, parties, and economic policy dynamics.

Since the late 1990s, when Latin American countries began making a "turn to the left," political parties and candidates on the right end of the partisan spectrum have had a difficult time achieving electoral success. Although the left turn can be seen as a natural reaction to the public’s general dissatisfaction with the conservative modernization policies of the 1980s and 1990s, left-of-center politics are by no means permanent. In The Resilience of the Latin American Right, Juan Pablo Luna and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser seek to "right" this view by explaining the strategies conservative political parties have used to maintain a foothold in the region’s electoral and governance processes.

The editors provide an analytical framework for conceptualizing the right that works for both historic and contemporary politics, and the volume’s contributors use the framework to evaluate right-of-center political activity across the continent. They find that conservative forces are pursuing a range of adaptive strategies, including nonelectroral and nonpartisan tactics. The book’s four thematic sections include an analysis of parties and elections in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

Students and scholars of both Latin American politics and comparative politics will find The Resilience of the Latin American Right of vital interest.

Reviews

Reviews

Clearly, any understanding of contemporary Latin American politics requires a re-examination of the traditional left-right divide—and this book fills a gaping hole.

A valuable, wide-ranging survey of the region's understudied right-wing parties, personalities, and programs.

The Resilience of the Latin American Right fills a void in the literature on Latin American politics by presenting a systematic analysis of conservative rule and influence outside of government.

Latin America specialists love studying the left, but neglect the right—although the right often plays an important political role. By offering the most well-researched, comprehensive, and interesting analysis of rightwing forces, movements, and parties in many years, Luna and Rovira Kaltwasser’s collection takes a major step toward filling this striking gap in the literature. Highly recommended!

Juan Pablo Luna and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser make an important and timely contribution to comparative politics and to contemporary scholarship on Latin America. This is a theoretically rich and empirically ambitious volume, with contributions from top U.S. and Latin American scholars. At a time when studies of the left are proliferating in the discipline, this volume provides a needed new perspective on how the right has played a key role in shaping contemporary Latin American politics.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6.125
x
9.25
Pages
392
ISBN
9781421413907
Illustration Description
33 line drawings
Table of Contents

Preface
List of Abbreviations

Introduction:The Right in Contemporary Latin America: A Framework for Analysis
Part I: The Contemporary Context
Chapter 1. Democracy, Free Markets, and the Rightist

Preface
List of Abbreviations

Introduction:The Right in Contemporary Latin America: A Framework for Analysis
Part I: The Contemporary Context
Chapter 1. Democracy, Free Markets, and the Rightist Dilemma in Latin America
Chapter 2. Profiling the Electorate: Ideology and Attitudes of Rightwing Voters
Part II: the nonelectoral right
Chapter 3. New Strategies of the Latin American Right: Beyond Parties and Elections
Chapter 4. The Right and Nonparty Forms of Repre sen ta tion and Participation: Bolivia and Ec ua dor Compared
Chapter 5. The Authoritarian Roots of New Right Party Success in Latin America
Part III: The Electoral, Nonpartisan Right
Chapter 6. From Right Pop u lism in the 1990s to Left Populism in the 2000s—and Back Again?
Chapter 7. Is There a Right Track in Post–Party System Collapse Scenarios? Comparing the Andean Countries
Chapter 8. Colombia: Analyzing the Strategies for Po liti cal Action of Álvaro Uribe's Government, 2002–10
Chapter 9. Mexico: The Partido Acción Nacional as a Right Party
Chapter 10. Chile: The Right's Evolution from Democracy to Authoritarianism and Back Again
Chapter 11. El Salvador: Societal Cleavages, Strategic Elites, and the Success of the Right
Chapter 12. Brazil: Explaining the Rise and Decline of the Conservatives
Chapter 13. Argentina: The Difficulties of the Partisan Right and the Case of Propuesta Republicana
Conclusion: Right (and Left) Politics in Contemporary Latin America
List of Contributors
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Juan Pablo Luna

Juan Pablo Luna is an associate professor and director of graduate studies at the Instituto de Ciencia Política, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
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