1. 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