Can Civil Society Organizations Solve the Crisis of Partisan Representation in Latin America?

Abstract

This article takes up the question of whether civil society organizations (CSOs) can and do act as mechanisms of representation in times of party crisis. It looks at recent representation practices in Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil, three countries where political parties have experienced sharp crises after several decades of mixed reviews for their party systems. At such moments, any replacement of parties by CSOs should be especially apparent. This study concludes that the degree of crisis determines the extent that CSOs' representative functions replace partisan representation, at least in the short term. Where systems show signs of re-equilibration, CSOs offer alternative mechanisms through which citizens can influence political outcomes without seeking to replace parties. Where crisis is profound, CSOs claim some of the basic party functions but do not necessarily solve the problems of partisan representation.

Institutionalizing Social Accountability? Participation and the PRS Process in Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua

“…Systems of horizontal and vertical accountability are weak, due, for example, to the high degree of inequality, to clientelism and patronage, and to an unchecked executive branch (O'Donnell, 2006;Peruzzotti and Smulovitz, 2006). In this vacuum, civil society organizations (and the people whose interests they represent) value the opportunity to bypass the political process and discuss ideas and problems directly with government officials (Hochsteltler and Friedman, 2008).…”

Mediating cosmopolitanism: crafting an allegorical imperative through Beijing 2008

“…It was, nevertheless, this discourse that forged a particular model of (virulent, whitewashed and de-ethnicised) communist humanity, going against the very core of human rights. A group of top French athletes launched an open petition to Hu Jintao using both their celebrity status and their appeal to ordinary folk to exercise pressure (Thurston, 27 March 2008, Street 2004, for comparison see Hochstetler and Friedman 2008). This move, which prioritised professional status over political loyalty, stood alongside organised social movements against Chinese policies, broadening the horizons of the Olympic public sphere.…”

Political Institutions and Protest: A Comparative Analysis

“…In the representational realm, political parties and social movement organisations have overlapping roles in representing group interests within a society (Schimitter 2001). Nevertheless, different cleavages in society shape representation by civil society, including social movements (Hochstetler and Friedman 2008) as well as the political party system (Lipset and Rokkan 1967;Lipson 1959).…”