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Civil Society and Support for the Political System in Times of Crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Carew E. Boulding  and
Jami Nelson-Núñez
Carew E. Boulding
Affiliation:
University of Colorado Boulder
Jami Nelson-Núñez
Affiliation:
University of Colorado Boulder
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Abstract

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How does civil society affect support for the political system during times of political crises? Some argue that civil society strengthens support for political systems by increasing trust and participation. Yet recent scholarship demonstrates that civil society can also facilitate mobilization and dissent, which may undermine support for the political system, especially in times of crisis. We test these competing claims using individual-level data from a country in the midst of a major political crisis: Bolivia in 2004. We find that membership in civil society organizations leads to higher levels of diffuse support for the political system even during a crisis—and even among those who have recently participated in protest. Civil society, however, is not associated with higher support for government during the crisis. Despite extremely high levels of mobilization, extreme dissatisfaction with government, and evidence that membership in associations actively facilitates political protest, civil society continues to be positively associated with support for the political system.

Resumen

Resumen

¿Cómo la sociedad civil afecta en el apoyo al sistema político en tiempos de crisis política? Algunos sostienen que la sociedad civil debe fortalecer el apoyo a los sistemas políticos mediante el aumento de la confianza y la participación. Sin embargo, estudios recientes demuestran que la sociedad civil también puede facilitar la movilización y la disidencia, lo que puede socavar el apoyo al sistema político, especialmente en tiempos de crisis. Examinamos la validez de estas dos proposiciones utilizando datos a nivel individual de un país en medio de una crisis: Bolivia en 2004. Encontramos que el pertenecer en las organizaciones de la sociedad civil conduce mayores niveles de apoyo difuso al sistema político, incluso durante una crisis, incluso entre los que han participado recientemente en protestas. La sociedad civil, sin embargo, no se asocia con un mayor apoyo al gobierno durante la crisis. A pesar de niveles extremadamente altos de movilización, la insatisfacción extrema con el gobierno, y la evidencia que la pertenencia a asociaciones activamente facilita la protesta política, la sociedad civil sigue siendo positivamente asociada con el apoyo al sistema político.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , 2014 , pp. 128 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

We thank the Latin American Public Opinion Project and its major supporters (the US Agency for International Development, the UN Development Program, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Vanderbilt University) for making the data available. We would also like to thank Andy Baker, Damarys Canache, José Cheibub, Amy Liu, Patricio Navia, Irfan Nooruddin, and Milan Svolik for comments.

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