Argentine Democracy: The Politics of Institutional Weakness

This book is a compendium of provocative, scholarly chapters that deepen our understanding of the continuing puzzles about Argentina: the failure to establish stable political institutions, the persistence and attraction of Peronism, the power of provincial political coalitions, and the enduring cycles of unfulfilled expectations. The book plumbs difficult theoretical and substantive challenges to Argentine democracy and opens up new ways of thinking about and researching its institutions, thus providing a stimulating teaching text.

--Peter Ranis, City University of New York

This volume represents a timely, valuable update on Argentina's democracy and its travails, leading up to the great crisis of 2001-2002. The editors and contributors do a nice job of bringing institutional theory to bear on a host of critical issues, and in doing so reveal just how varied Argentine political institutions are in their strength, endurance, and impact on political behavior. The book is also a reminder of how central politics is to the unfolding and potential resolution of crises that are too often visualized in solely economic terms.

--David Pion, University of California, Riverside

This volume is a first-rate collection of original essays that help to explain Argentina's descent from neoliberal showcase to basket case. The contributors shed new light on the institutional frailties and deformities that undermine effective policy-making, distort political representation, and exacerbate the tensions between democracy and market reform. Rich in comparative and theoretical insights, this book is a must-read for students and scholars alike who are trying to understand why neoliberalism so often fails to live up to its hype in Latin America.

--Kenneth Roberts, Cornell University

A superb collection of essays by scholars on the cutting edge of comparative studies of Argentine politics. This book takes us past the usual hand-wringing about the 'enigmas' and 'paradoxes' of Argentine politics. Instead, it reveals, with stark analytical clarity, heretofore unobserved inner workings of Argentina's complex institutional and coalitional anatomy. The theoretical breadth of the volume's editors and contributors tell us much about the state of governance in turn of the century Latin American politics. The impressive empirical coverage makes this a groundbreaking study of Argentine politics that will shape research agendas for a long time to come.

--Edward L. Gibson, Northwestern University

On the whole, the volume is a welcome contribution to our understanding of Argentina. The collection of well-crafted essays should be read by anyone interested in the issues facing this troubled yet promising democracy. The book's scope makes it a valuable addition to the scholarship on democratization not only in Argentina but across Latin America.

--Rebecca Bill Chavez, The Americas

The book is a must-read for graduate students, scholars, and even policy-makers interested in Argentine politics, economic reform, political institutions and state-society relations. It provides empirically and theoretically rich studies of the institutional frailties of economic policy-making in Argentina during the 1990s, the pathologies of fiscal federalism, the influence of governors on national politics, the changing role of the judiciary, and the dynamics of social mobilization and protest.

--Gabriel L. Negretto, Latin American Politics and Society

Steven Levitsky is John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University.

Mar a Victoria Murillo is Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.