The Transition to Democracy

Are There Lessons from Venezuela

Bibliographic Data

ID4989186
AuthorsD H Levine (0000-0002-3857-809X, corresponding author)
Year1985
Volume4
Issue2
Pages47
Publication date1985-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of Latin American Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-3050 • E-ISSN: 1470-9856
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3338315
OpenAlexW2333283389
LanguageEN
Citations received13

This article addresses the issue of transitions to democracy in Latin America through a close look at Venezuela. What does the Venezuelan experience tell us about contemporary prospects for democracy in Latin America? Is there a Venezuelan 'model', and if so, is it generalizable? Or are the specific con? ditions of Venezuelan democracy so unique as to make its success more an object of admiration than a guide to action? There are three distinct (though related) phases condensed in the notion of 'democratization'?inauguration, consolidation and the transformation to maturity. While each phase presents different problems and opportunities, the master problem which presents itself in different form in each phase is the creation of legitimate norms and structures of political action. Solving the prob? lem, in practical and intellectual terms, requires attention to elements of leader? ship, organizational creation, followers and to the nature of the ideological orientations and material resources at play. These considerations lay the basis for a major research programme. In what follows, I will draw primarily on previous work about the transition to demo? cracy and its subsequent consolidation in Venezuela, looking once again at the Venezuelan experience in the light of renewed interest in democratization, democracy, and political issues generally in recent scholarship on Latin America.1 My own work on Venezuelan politics has consistently stressed the centrality of leadership, the creation of operative norms of coexistence and the develop? ment of institutions (especially strong political parties) which made the commitments of leaders effective and largely acceptable to key groups and to mass publics generally. Together these elements worked to promote inter-elite con? sensus and reduce the intensity and scope of conflict while providing for its regular, routine expression in the daily practice of political life?above all in

Biology · Democracy · Economic system · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Transition (genetics · Cultural and political discourse analysis · Law · Political Theory and Democracy · Politics and Society in Latin America

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