Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-rnpqb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-28T11:40:26.092Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Clientelism and the Utility of the Left-Right Dimension in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Saskia P. Ruth
Saskia P. Ruth*
Affiliation:
University of Zurich, NCCR Democracy. saskia.ruth@zda.uzh.ch
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between clientelism and citizens' political orientation in Latin America. Consistent political perceptions in the citizenry are central in traditional theories of political competition. This article argues that clientelism hinders the development of consistent political orientation by reducing the utility of information cues, such as left-right labels. More specifically, clientelistic parties generate indifference among their supporters toward the left-right divide by offering them an alternative voting rationale, and increase uncertainty in the political realm by making left-right labels less meaningful. Both arguments are tested with multilevel regression analyses using cross-sectional data covering 18 Latin American countries. The results indicate that clientelistic party supporters are more likely to show indifference toward the left-right dimension and, to a lesser extent, that their left-right orientation corresponds less with their political attitudes.

Type
Research
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 58 , Issue 1 , Spring 2016 , pp. 72 - 97
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altman, David, Pablo Luna, Juan, Piñeiro, Rafael, and Toro, Sergio. 2009. Partidos y sistemas de partidos en América Latina: aproximaciones desde la encuesta a expertos 2009. Revista de Ciencia Política 29, 3: 775–98.Google Scholar
Álvarez, R. Michael, and Franklin, Charles H.. 1994. Uncertainty and Political Perceptions. Journal of Politics 56, 3: 671–88.Google Scholar
American Political Science Association (APSA). Committee on Political Parties. 1950. Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System. American Political Science Review 44: Supplement.Google Scholar
AmericasBarometer. 2010. Database. Nashville: LAPOP, Vanderbilt University. www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/free-access.php Google Scholar
Auyero, Javier. 2013. Lessons Learned While Studying Clientelistic Politics in the Gray Zone. In Clientelism, Social Policy, and the Quality of Democracy, ed. Abente Brun, Diego and Diamond, Larry. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 114–29.Google Scholar
Blais, André, and Dobrzynska, Agnieszka. 1998. Turnout in Electoral Democracies. European Journal of Political Research 33, 2: 239–61.Google Scholar
Bowler, Shaun. 1990. Voter Perceptions and Party Strategies: an Empirical Approach. Comparative Politics 23, 1: 61–83.Google Scholar
Brambor, Thomas, Roberts Clark, William, and Golder, Matt. 2006. Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses. Political Analysis 14: 63–82.Google Scholar
Calvo, Ernesto, and Murillo, María Victoria. 2013. When Parties Meet Voters: Assessing Political Linkages through Partisan Networks and Distributive Expectations in Argentina and Chile. Comparative Political Studies 46, 7: 851–82.Google Scholar
Carlin, Ryan E., and Moseley, Mason. 2015. Good Democrats, Bad Targets: Democratic Values and Clientelistic Vote Buying. Journal of Politics 77, 1: 14–26.Google Scholar
Carreras, Miguel, Morgenstern, Scott, and Su, Yen-Pin. 2015. Refining the Theory of Partisan Alignments: Evidence from Latin America. Party Politics 21, 5: 671–85.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 2005. The Left-Right Dimension in Latin America. Economics and Business Working Paper No. 813. Barcelona: Universitat Pompeu Fabra.Google Scholar
Converse, Philip E. 1975. Some Mass-Elite Contrast in the Perception of Political Spaces. Social Science Information 14, 3–4: 49–83.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W. 2009. Swing Voters, Core Voters, and Distributive Politics. In Political Representation, ed. Shapiro, Ian, Stokes, Susan C., Wood, Elisabeth J., and Kirshner, Alexander S.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 342–57.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 1986. Electoral Politics as a Redistributive Game. Journal of Politics 48, 2: 370–89.Google Scholar
Dalton, Russell J., and Klingemann, Hans-Dieter. 2007. Citizens and Political Behavior. In The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior, ed. Dalton, and Klingemann, . Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desposato, Scott. 2007. How Does Vote Buying Shape the Legislative Arena? In Elections for Sale: The Causes and Consequences of Vote Buying, ed. Schaffer, Frederic C.. Boulder: Lynne Rienner. 101–22.Google Scholar
Dixit, Avinash, and Londregan, John. 1996. The Determinants of Success of Special Interests in Redistributive Politics. Journal of Politics 58, 4: 1132–55.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
European Commission. 2012. Eurobarometer 71.2 (5–6 2009). ZA4972 Datenfile version 3.0.2. DOI 10.4232/1.10990. Brussels: TNS Opinion & Social, Producer. Cologne: GESIS Datenarchiv.Google Scholar
Fuchs, Dieter, and Klingemann, Hans-Dieter. 1989. The Left-Right Schema. In Continuities in Political Action: A Longitudinal Study of Political Orientations in Three Western Democracies, ed. Kent Jennings, M. and van Deth, Jan W.. Berlin: De Gruyter. 203–38.Google Scholar
Hagopian, Frances, and Mainwaring, Scott P.. 2005. The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Harbers, Imke, de Vries, Catherine E., and Steenbergen, Marco R.. 2013. Attitude Variability among Latin American Publics: How Party System Structuration Affects Left-Right Ideology. Comparative Political Studies 46, 8: 947–67.Google Scholar
Hosmer, David W., and Lemeshow, Stanley. 2000. Applied Logistic Regression. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Hox, Joop. 2010. Multilevel Analysis: Techniques and Applications. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Klingemann, Hans-Dieter. 1976. Party Identification, Ideological Preference and the Left–Right Dimension Among Western Mass Publics. In Party Identification and Beyond: Representations of Voting and Party Competition, ed. Budge, Ian, Crewe, Ivor, and J, Dennis. Farlie. London: John Wiley. 243–73.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert. 2000. Linkages between Citizens and Politicians in Democratic Polities. Comparative Political Studies 33, 6–7: 845–79.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert. 2013. Democratic Accountability and Linkages Project. Durham: Duke University.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert, and Wilkinson, Steven I.. 2007. Patrons, Clients, and Policies: Patterns of Democratic Accountability and Political Competition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert, Hawkins, Kirk A., Luna, Juan P., Rosas, Guillermo, and Zechmeister, Elizabeth J.. 2010. Latin American Party Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laakso, Markku, and Taagepera, Rein. 1979. “Effective” Number of Parties: a Measure with Application to West Europe. Comparative Political Studies 12, 1: 3–27.Google Scholar
Latinobarómetro (LAB). 2009. Latinobarómetro Survey Data. Santiago, Chile: Corporación Latinobarómetro. www.latinobarometro.org/latContents.jsp Google Scholar
Lawson, Chappell, and Greene, Kenneth F.. 2011. Self-Enforcing Clientelism. Unpublished mss.Google Scholar
Lindbeck, Assar, and Weibull, Jörgen W.. 1987. Balanced-Budget Redistribution as the Outcome of Political Competition. Public Choice 52: 273–97.Google Scholar
Luskin, Robert C. 1990. Explaining Political Sophistication. Political Behavior 12, 4: 331–61.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott P., and Shugart, Matthew S.. 1997. Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott P., and Scully, Timothy R.. 1995. Building Democratic Institutions: Party Systems in Latin America. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Manin, Bernhard, Przeworski, Adam, and Stokes, Susan C.. 1999. Introduction. In Democracy, Accountability, and Representation, ed. Przeworski, Stokes, and Manin, . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1–26.Google Scholar
Nichter, Simeon. 2008. Vote Buying or Turnout Buying? Machine Politics and the Secret Ballot, American Political Science Review 102, 1: 19–31.Google Scholar
Nie, Norman H., Verba, Sidney, and Kim, Jae-on. 1974. Political Participation and the Life Cycle. Comparative Politics 6, 3: 319–40.Google Scholar
Pitkin, Hanna F. 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth M. 2002. Party-society Linkages and Democratic Representation in Latin America. Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 27, 53: 9–34.Google Scholar
Rosas, Guillermo, Johnston, Noel P., and Hawkins, Kirk. 2014. Local Public Goods as Vote-Purchasing Devices? Persuasion and Mobilization in the Choice of Clientelist Payments, Journal of Theoretical Politics 26, 4: 573–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruth, Saskia P. 2012. Clientelism and Ideological Congruence in Latin American Party Systems. Paper presented at the workshop “Legitimacy Under Attack,” Leiden University, October 25–26.Google Scholar
Sartori, Giovanni 1976. Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schaffer, Frederic C., and Schedler, Andreas. 2007. What Is Vote Buying? In Elections for Sale: The Causes and Consequences of Vote Buying, ed. Schaffer, Frederic C.. Boulder: Lynne Rienner. 17–30.Google Scholar
Schumpeter, Joseph A. 2008 [1942]. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper Perennial.Google Scholar
Snijders, Tom A.B., and Bosker, Roel J.. 1999. Multilevel Analysis: An Introduction to Basic and Advanced Multilevel Modeling. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Steenbergen, Marco R., and Jones, Bradford S.. 2002. Modeling Multilevel Data Structures. American Journal of Political Science 46, 1: 218–37.Google Scholar
Stokes, Susan C. 2007. Political Clientelism. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, eds. Boix, Carles and Stokes, . Oxford: Oxford University Press. 604–27.Google Scholar
Stokes, Susan C., Dunning, Thad, Nazareno, Marcelo, and Brusco, Valeria. 2013. Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism: The Puzzle of Distributive Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Taylor, Michael, and Herman, V. M.. 1971. Party Systems and Governmental Stability. American Political Science Review 65, 1: 28–37.Google Scholar
Thomassen, Jacques. 1994. Empirical Research into Political Representation: Failing Democracy or Fail Models? In Elections At Home and Abroad, ed. Kent Jennings, M. and Mann, Thomas E.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 237–65.Google Scholar
Van der Brug, Wouter, Franklin, Mark, and Tóka, Gábor. 2008. One Electorate or Many? Differences in Party Preference Formation between New and Established European Democracies, Electoral Studies 27, 4: 589–600.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt. 1999. Neoliberal Populism in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Comparative Politics 31, 4: 379–401.Google Scholar
Wiesehomeier, Nina, and Doyle, David. 2012. Attitudes, Ideological Associations, and the Left-Right Divide in Latin America. Journal of Politics in Latin America 4, 1: 3–33.Google Scholar
Wiesehomeier, Nina, and Benoit, Kenneth. 2009. Presidents, Parties, and Policy Competition. Journal of Politics 71, 4: 1435–47.Google Scholar
Zechmeister, Elizabeth J. 2006. What's Left and Who's Right? a Q-method Study of Individual and Contextual Influences on the Meaning of Ideological Labels, Political Behavior 28, 2: 151–73.Google Scholar
Zechmeister, Elizabeth J. 2010. Left-Right Semantics as a Facilitator of Programmatic Structuration. In Kitschelt et al. 2010. 96–118.Google Scholar
Zechmeister, Elizabeth J., and Corral, Margarita. 2013. Individual and Contextual Constraints on Ideological Labels in Latin America. Comparative Political Studies 46, 6: 675–701.Google Scholar
Zoco, Edurne. 2006. Legislators' Positions and Party System Competition in Central America: a Comparative Analysis. Party Politics 12, 2: 257–80.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Ruth supplementary material

Supplementary Table 4

Download Ruth supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 36.2 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Ruth supplementary material

Supplementary Table 5

Download Ruth supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 94.8 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Ruth supplementary material

Supplementary Figure 3

Download Ruth supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 23.9 KB