Disconnected Fire Alarms and Ineffective Police Patrols

Legislative Oversight in Postauthoritarian Chile

Bibliographic Data

ID4547351
AuthorsPeter M Siavelis (0000-0002-6198-8206, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume42
Issue1
Pages71-98
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1937 • E-ISSN: 2162-2736
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/166466
OpenAlexW4229586224
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited15

In many Latin American countries, corruption and administrative inefficiency have emerged as significant threats to democracy and governability. This case study employs McCubbins and Schwartz's U.S.-centered model of "fire alarm" and "police patrol" oversight to analyze how effectively Chile's Congress has conducted its oversight functions. Chile's experience with authoritarian rule, the weakening of Congress, and changes in the relationships between citizens and state institutions have undermined its tradition of fire alarm oversight, forcing Congress to rely on less-effective police patrol activities

ALARM · Authoritarianism · Democracy · Economics · Governor · Inefficiency · Language change · Latin Americans · Legislature · Political science · Politics · State (computer science) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Engineering · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub