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61. Fragile States, Robust Structures: Illegal Police Protection in Buenos Aires

Author:
Matías Dewey
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Weakness is a quality frequently ascribed to Latin American states. This diagnosis proves faulty since it is possible to find resistant structures inside those states that perpetuate such weaknesses. This article shows that this is the case in regards to the police force of the province of Buenos Aires. Here, I will demonstrate that the police have specialized in selling a service available to criminals and criminal organizations: illegal protection. With information taken from in-depth interviews and official documents, I will show that this protection-contrary to the views of Charles Tilly and Diego Gambetta-is characterized by a temporary suspension of the rule of law.
Topic:
Security, Crime, Fragile/Failed State, Law Enforcement, and Law
Political Geography:
Latin America

62. How Neopatrimonialism Affects Tax Administration: A Comparative Study of Three World Regions

Author:
Christian von Soest, Karsten Bechle, and Nina Korte
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Neopatrimonialism is a concept that has predominately been applied to describe governance in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, though, it has also been used to describe states from other world regions. However, scholars have rarely attempted to systematically compare neopatrimonial rule in different regional settings. This paper aims to narrow this gap by examining the effect of neopatrimonialism on the tax administration as a core state function in six countries from three different world regions: Argentina, Venezuela, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and Zambia. We conclude that neopatrimonialism is a valuable concept for comparative area studies with the potential to foster dialogue on the "state in operation" across the regional divide. However, several indicators are more valid for some world regions than for others. We find that there is no systematic relationship between neopatrimonial trajectories and the strength of tax administration. Individual actor decisions influence the outcomes of neopatrimonialism substantially.
Topic:
Post Colonialism and Governance
Political Geography:
Kenya, Indonesia, Asia, Argentina, Philippines, Latin America, Venezuela, and Zambia

63. Turning Legal Pluralism into State-Sanctioned Law: Assessing the Implications of the New Constitutions and Laws in Bolivia and Ecuador

Author:
Anna Barrera
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Former colonial countries and ethnically and/or religiously diverse societies have long faced the challenge of accommodating distinct and largely conflictive normative orders within a single polity.1 In such contexts of legal pluralism, particular social groups have often, besides state law, followed their own law-like principles, rules, and procedures, which typically originate from distinct sources of legitimacy such as tradition or religion, cultural values and forms of organization (Griffiths 1986; Sousa Santos 1987; Merry 1988; Benda-Beckmann 2002).
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Law
Political Geography:
Latin America, Ecuador, and Bolivia

64. Democracy Against Parties? Party System Deinstitutionalization in Colombia

Author:
Eduardo Dargent and Paula Muñoz
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article argues that in Colombia, decentralization and electoral reforms adopted in the late 1980s and in the 1991 Constitution – designed to improve democratic quality – brought about a gradual deinstitutionalization of this country's traditional party system as an unintended consequence. Building upon resource-based theories of party configuration, we contend that in developing countries, where resources are usually crucial for party aggregation, “democratizing” reforms designed to distribute power and resources in the political system can reduce local candidates' incentives to join and remain loyal to political parties, particularly when those parties' reputations are weak. In Colombia, these reforms (i) reduced the power of intermediate-level party leaders over the distribution of selective incentives, making these leaders less important for local politicians, and (ii) gave more political and financial autonomy to local candidates, reducing their need to join parties in order to advance their electoral goals. As a result, party cohesion and discipline become difficult to maintain, and the party system gradually deinstitutionalizes.
Political Geography:
Colombia and Latin America

65. Institutional Trust and Congressional Autonomy in Latin America: Expectations, Performance, and Confidence in Peru's Legislature

Author:
Barry S. Levitt
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
What role do Latin Americans expect legislatures to play vis-à-vis the executive? How do expectations shape political trust in a developing democracy like Peru? This article introduces new indicators gauging citizens' current perceptions of, and idealized expectations for, the institutional independence of their elected assemblies. It uses 2007 data to test the hypothesis that the gap between the two indicators – the “legislative autonomy gap” – predicts trust in Congress. Most Peruvians claimed to prefer a more autonomous legislature. And citizens whose high expectations for institutional independence were adequately met were more likely to express confidence in Congress. However, having low expectations of congressional autonomy met also enhanced confidence in that institution. Trust in Congress proved to be pragmatic too, tied to perceptions of strong national economic performance, confidence in political parties, approval of congressional leader- ship, and approval of the same president from whom most Peruvians wished Congress would become more independent.
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru

66. State-Building, War and Violence: Evidence from Latin America

Author:
Sabine Kurtenbach
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In European history, war has played a major role in state‐building and the state monopoly on violence. But war is a very specific form of organized political violence, and it is decreasing on a global scale. Other patterns of armed violence now dominate, ones that seem to undermine state‐building, thus preventing the replication of European experiences. As a consequence, the main focus of the current state‐building debate is on fragility and a lack of violence control inside these states.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Political Violence, and War
Political Geography:
Europe and Latin America

67. The International Dimensions of Authoritarian Legitimation: The Impact of Regime Evolution

Author:
Bert Hoffmann
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
While traditional theories of legitimacy have focused on the nation-state, authoritarian regimes and democracies alike seek legitimation not only in the domestic realm but also from international sources. This paper argues that the degree to, and the form in, which they do so depend on the regime's origins, characteristics, and evolution, rather than being mere consequences of changes in the international context. Empirically, the paper draws on the case of the Cuban regime since the 1959 revolution. In particular, it analyzes how the regime's transition from a charismatic to a bureaucratic model of state socialism in the post-Fidel succession era led to a reconfiguration in the regime's legitimation strategy, wherein it has greatly downsized its once expansive international dimensions.
Topic:
Government and Political Theory
Political Geography:
Cuba, Latin America, and Caribbean

68. Civil Society 2.0?: How the Internet Changes State-Society Relations in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Cuba

Author:
Bert Hoffmann
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In the debate over the role of civil society under authoritarian regimes, the spread of transnational web-based media obliges us to rethink the arenas in which the societal voice can be raised–and heard. Taking the case of state-socialist Cuba, a diachronic comparison analyzes civil society dynamics prior to the Internet–in the early to mid-1990s, and a decade later, after digital and web-based media made their way onto the island. The study finds that in the pre-Internet period, the focus was on behind-the-scenes struggles for associational autonomy within the state-socialist framework. A decade later, web-based communication technologies have supported the emergence of a new type of public sphere in which the civil society debate is marked by autonomous citizen action. While this defies the socialist regime's design of state-society relations, its effect on democratization depends on the extent to which a web-based voice connects with off-line public debate and social action.
Topic:
Civil Society and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Cuba, Latin America, and Island

69. Conflict Prevention through Natural Resource Management? A Comparative Study

Author:
Miriam Shabafrouz, Annegret Mähler, and Georg Strüver
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Natural resources are often held responsible for intrastate conflicts. As a consequence, both national and international measures to avoid the detrimental impact of resource endowments have increasingly been discussed and implemented in resource-rich countries. These measures include stabilization funds, subregional development programs, revenue-sharing regimes, and transparency initiatives. However, comparative empirical studies of the actual impact of these measures, particularly regarding their contribution to conflict prevention, are scarce. This paper contributes to the filling of this gap: combining a medium-N sample of oildependent countries and three in-depth case studies (Algeria, Nigeria, and Venezuela), we evaluate different instruments of resource management and their effects on conflict risk factors. On the one hand, the findings do not show any systematic connection between the countermeasures and a reduction in resource-related risks; on the other, the paper highlights common causal factors for the lack of implementation of resource-related countermeasures.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Development, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Africa, Algeria, Latin America, Venezuela, and Nigeria

70. ¿Es el crecimiento económico suficiente para apoyar la democracia? Lecciones del caso chileno

Author:
Pedro Aravena Lavin
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article analyzes the support for democracy in Chile from an economic, institutional and political perspective. It uses data from Latinobarómetro for the period 1996–2007 and a statistical method of estimation, “ordered logit,” in order to answer the question of why support for Chilean democracy is not connected with economic growth. The analysis generates three key results of interest. First, regardless of the fact that GDP per capita does not have any effect on the level of support for democracy, it does affect individuals' perceptions of economic performance, since the variable “economic situation” is one of the most explanatory variable of the model. Second, the analysis demonstrates the importance of the degree of confidence in the Congress at the moment that perceptions of democracy are evaluated. Third, “political ideology” is the most useful variable in explaining support for democracy, a fact which suggests that the adherents of the right wing do not support the democratic system. This is the most reliable reason for the moderate level of support for democracy in Chile.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Politics
Political Geography:
Latin America and Chile