Democratic Processes, Clientelistic Relationships, and the Material Goods Problem

Bibliographic Data

ID23148487
AuthorsT Hilgers (0000-0003-0917-3322, corresponding author)
Year2012
Pages3-22
Publication date2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueClientelism in Everyday Latin American Politics (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan US (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/9781137275998_1
OpenAlexW2502607889
ISBN9781137275998
LanguageEN
Citations received9

The central question in this volume is what is the relationship between clientelism and democracy? The traditional answer to this question has been that clientelism is a vestige of authoritarian regimes that undermines democratic institutions and processes (see the discussion in Roniger 1994b). In the view of the contributors to this volume, the dynamics of clientelism and democracy on the ground are more complex. In third-wave countries with developing economies, the realities of doing politics while coping with markets whose benefits are not broadly accessible are far from the democratic ideals of equality, universality, and participation. Formal democratic rules are implanted in deeply unequal societies, in which the poor are socially and politically marginalized as a result of scarce economic opportunities, and the state is faced with continuous fiscal shortages and real or potential political instability. In the context of uncertainty, actors often prefer the use of personal relationships, such as clientelism, that create predictability, to trusting the doubtful outcome of formal channels.

Authoritarianism · Clientelism · Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Law · Political Economy and Marxism · Politics and Society in Latin America

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