Coping with Economic Hardship in Argentina

How Material Interests Affect Individuals' Political Interests

Bibliographic Data

ID6238041
AuthorsNancy R Powers (Florida State University, corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume32
Issue3
Pages521-549
Publication date1999-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-4239 • E-ISSN: 1744-9324
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0008423900013950
OpenAlexW1977254205
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited55

The political impact of difficult economic conditions in the democracies of the developing world depends in part on how people at the grass roots evaluate their political interests. This article argues that understanding the political interests of lower-income persons requires two separate analyses: how people think about their material conditions, which is affected by the type of material hardships and the objective capacity to cope with those conditions; and how people think about politics, given party and class identities and economic, historic and political contexts. Using in-depth interviews in Argentina, the research develops an analytical framework through which to evaluate the conditions under which people would, and would not, support a government that does not alleviate their economic difficulties. The analysis is used to examine recent events in Argentina and is applied to other cases

Affect (linguistics · Coping (psychology · Development economics · Economics · Government (linguistics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Politics and Society in Latin America · Psychology