Search

Begin New Search Publishing Institution German Institute of Global and Area Studies

41. Censoring the Press: A Barometer of Government Tolerance for Anti-regime Dissent under Authoritarian Rule

Author:
Elizabeth Ann Stein
Publication Date:
08-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper proposes that dissident leaders aiming to build mass opposition movements follow the mainstream press to help them gauge government tolerance for anti-government mass actions in repres- sive authoritarian regimes. Under conditions of censorship, media–state interactions serve as a barometer of the government’s disposition toward and capacity to impede public displays of dissent. Observing trends in coverage and the government’s reaction to this coverage helps activist leaders assess when it should be safest to plan anti-government mass actions, such as demonstrations, marches, or strikes. Using original data derived from coding content from the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo over the period of 1974–1982, I test whether opposition mass actions followed trends in taboo content and government treatment of the press during the period of political liberalization of Brazil’s military regime.
Topic:
Authoritarianism, The Press, Oppression, and Dissent
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and Latin America

42. Realism under Hegemony: Theorizing the Rise of Brazil

Author:
Kurt Weyland
Publication Date:
08-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
What light can international relations theory shed on how developing countries such as Brazil have achieved regional leadership and international influence? This comprehensive examination of Brazili- an foreign policy over the last few decades argues that Realism provides a better account of Brazil’s strategy than Liberalism and Constructivism. Despite changes of government and regime, Brasília has persistently pursued relative political gain, especially international influence. Howev- er, because this rising country has faced an established hegemon in the form of the United States, it has not been able to employ conventionally Realist instruments and tactics. Its subordinate position in the current power constellation has forced Brazil to forego political or military con- frontation and instead use economic cooperation, both with the hegemon and its weaker neighbors. Through this collaboration, Brazil hopes to derive disproportionate benefits that will enhance its relative power. By elucidating these complex calculations, the present essay ex- plains the Realist strategy that ambitious nations such as Brazil have pursued and helps design a version of Realism that captures recent pow- er dynamics in the international system.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, Hegemony, and Realism
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and Latin America

43. Introduction. Challenges to Political Representation in Contemporary Chile

Author:
Rossana Castigliono and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Democratic representation seems to be increasingly under stress in various established democracies, such as Greece, Spain, and the USA. Chile is also following this trend, but there are a number of partic- ularities that make the Chilean case distinctive. After all, Chile is widely regarded as one of the most consolidated democratic regimes in Latin America and as having solid economic performance. However, citizens have shown decreasing levels of satisfaction with democracy and repre- sentative institutions, and are turning to protest and social mobilization to express their discontent. The paradox that Chile is facing today lies in the mismatch between the attitudes of voters and the overall perfor- mance of the regime. In explaining this intriguing puzzle, most of the literature has emphasized the legacy of institutional arrangements inher- ited from military rule. We argue that institutions are necessary but insuf- ficient for explaining the increasing challenges that democratic represen- tation faces. Thus, we also claim that it is necessary to consider not only the expansion of critical citizens and middle income earners, but also the repoliticization of inequalities.
Topic:
Democracy, Inequality, Citizenship, Representation, and Middle Class
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

44. Parties under Stress: Using a Linkage Decay Framework to Analyze the Chilean Party System

Author:
Jana Morgan and Carlos Melendez
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom suggests Chile’s party system is highly institutionalized. However, recent declines in participation and partisan- ship have begun to raise questions about this veneer of stability. This article assesses the current state of the Chilean party system, analyzing its ability to provide linkage. We specify a theoretical framework for identi- fying challenges to linkage and constraints on necessary adaptation. We then use this framework to evaluate linkage in the contemporary Chilean system, emphasizing how its representational profile has changed since the democratic transition. The analysis suggests the two partisan coali- tions no longer present clear policy alternatives and programmatic repre- sentation increasingly depends on policy responsiveness and relics of old ideological divides. Significant institutional constraints impede parties’ ability to incorporate demands from emerging social groups, and clien- telism remains a complementary but not core linkage mechanism. This evidence indicates that while representation in Chile has not yet failed, the system contains serious vulnerabilities.
Topic:
Democracy, Participation, and Party System
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

45. Crisis of Representation in Chile? The Institutional Connection

Author:
Peter M. Siavelis
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article analyzes the challenges to democratic representa- tion in contemporary Chile, with an institutional focus. I argue that the post-authoritarian model of politics was deeply constrained by institu- tions and practices inherited by democratic authorities and reinforced by the model of transitional politics and its series of informal institutions, which first facilitated, but then hindered democratic performance. While this does not point to a regime-threatening crisis, there are deep chal- lenges to representation and a desire for a different model of politics that is more capable of resolving conflicts and satisfying citizen demands. I posit that, until now, Chile’s formal and informal institutions have privi- leged stability over representation, accountability, and legitimacy. Conse- quently, it has fallen to social movements to set the agenda for change aimed at addressing Chile’s deeper problems of political and social ine- quality. I argue that institutional reforms are a necessary, yet insufficient, antidote to current challenges of representation.
Topic:
Democracy, Representation, and Legitimacy
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

46. Current Issues on the Political Representation of Middle Classes in Chile

Author:
Emmanuelle Barozet and Vicente Espinoza
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
n this article, we analyze the impact that the evolution of the middle classes has had on political representation in Chile. Based on a description of the transformations of Chilean social structure in recent decades, we review the conceptual frameworks available on the subject, from modernization theories and the rise of new masses – particularly the one that “emerged” from poverty – to the forming of new critical citizens. We state that the heterogeneity of Chilean middle classes has challenged the discredited representation system. We observe more effi- cient representation channels developing for medium-high-income, edu- cated, and consolidated sectors in contrast to new social policy demands from emerging and vulnerable sectors, focusing more on consolidating their economic status than on improving representation channels.
Topic:
Democracy, Representation, and Middle Class
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

47. Re)Politicizing Inequalities: Movements, Parties, and Social Citizenship in Chile

Author:
Kenneth M. Roberts
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
For 20 years following the 1989–1990 democratic transition, Chilean politics was characterized by stable forms of party-based political representation, relatively low levels of social mobilization, and a techno- cratic consensus around a neoliberal development model that generated rapid and sustained, albeit highly unequal, patterns of economic growth. This sociopolitical matrix was challenged, however, when hundreds of thousands of students and their supporters took to the streets to protest against educational inequalities, while smaller numbers of protestors mobilized around a plethora of other labor, environmental, and indige- nous rights claims. This wave of social protest occurred in a context of growing detachment of Chilean citizens from traditional parties and representative institutions, and it punctured the aura of inevitability and consensus that surrounded the country’s economic model. The ground- swell of popular protest signified the end of a posttransition political era in Chile and the dawning of a new one defined by the repoliticization of social and economic inequalities, including vigorous debates about the social pillars of the neoliberal model and the reach of social citizenship rights. The Chilean case sheds new light on the processes by which ine- qualities come to be politicized or depoliticized in different structural, institutional, and ideational contexts.
Topic:
Social Movement, Inequality, Citizenship, and Political Parties
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

48. Adaptation and Learning among Chinese Actors in Africa

Author:
Karsten Giese and Erdem Dikici
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
When we talk about “China in Africa”, we should always remember to differentiate between the various actors and scales that are too often conflated and hidden behind such large and all-encompassing labels like “China” or “Africa”. Common containers and the homogenizing of diversity seldom help to broaden our knowledge or deepen our understanding of the various phenomena which can be observed at the various scales of the multiple relationships that have evolved between this East Asian country and the African continent. Moreover, it is necessary to specify the point in time or particular period we are covering in our scholarly work and that from which we draw our conclusions. Quite a few of the publications addressing China–Africa relations have succumbed to broad generalizations, neglected diversity and specificity and overlooked the temporal dimension. The last couple of years, however, have seen the emergence of a growing body of well-informed case studies on the Chinese presence across the African continent that stress the particularity and the situatedness of Chinese–African encounters and interactions in Africa. We now can rely on thick descriptions of various Chinese actors' realities on the ground in Africa that more often than not defy and counter longstanding and still very common stereotypes, such as that of China's grand strategy in the scramble for Africa or of the generally exploitative and belligerent character of Chinese economic endeavours across the African continent.
Political Geography:
Africa and China

49. Chinese Adaptations: African Agency, Fragmented Community and Social Capital Creation in Ghana

Author:
Katy N. Lam
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in Ghana perceive themselves as vulnerable, as regularly they encounter problems and their businesses fail. The adaption experiences of Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa, especially non-traders, remain largely unstudied. By looking at the interactions of newly arrived and established Chinese migrants with institutional actors, partners, local employees and other Chinese in Ghana, this paper shows the multiple dimensions of how Chinese entrepreneurs' migration adaptation evolves, and how they create social capital to develop their businesses in Ghana. From the Chinese perspective, established entrepreneurs condemn the recent numerous “new” Chinese in Ghana as part of the root cause of problems, on account of their “poor quality and bad behaviour”; by comparison, the newly arrived Chinese attribute their challenges to deficiencies in the local people and institutions of the host country. The negative experiences of Chinese entrepreneurs in Ghana provide further evidence for, not only African, but also local Chinese agency from below, and suggest that the rising Chinese presence does not necessarily improve the social status of Chinese entrepreneurs or create a stronger, more unified Chinese community on the continent.
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

50. Of Other Spaces? Hybrid Forms of Chinese Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:
Romain Dittgen
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Chinese economic activities in Africa have gained increased visibility in parallel to the recent acceleration of Sino-African relations. This paper, which is framed from a geographical perspective that is often absent or neglected in studies covering China–Africa, focuses on the spatial forms and dynamics. It depicts the way in which two contrasting Chinese economic entities – a state-owned company in Chad and privately owned commercial malls in Johannesburg, South Africa – engage with their respective host environments. While drawing on concepts of “liminality” as well as “heterotopias”, I argue that the modalities of the Chinese footprint are characterised both by closure and interaction, creating a dynamic tension that produces its own set of unique practices. This ambivalence between enclave and active linkages with host societies is not only perceivable from a spatial point of view, but also emerges with regard to economic strategies. In the midst of a transitional period, along with a launching and a consolidating phase, the Chinese economic entities in both case studies show signs of change in terms of behaviour and territorial foothold.
Political Geography:
Africa and China