Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T10:50:53.542Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Legitimate Grievances: Preferences for Democracy, System Support, and Political Participation in Bolivia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Amy Erica Smith
Amy Erica Smith*
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Many cross-national surveys examine the extent to which citizens of new democracies believe that democracy is always preferable to any other form of government. There is little evidence, however, regarding how such attitudes affect citizen behavior. This article examines the case of Bolivia, asking whether and how Bolivians' attitudes toward democracy affect participation, including contacts with public officials and involvement in political parties and social movements. Through analysis of nationwide survey data, I show that preferences for democracy have little effect on participation in party meetings or protests. Examining the relationship more carefully, I then show that, for Bolivians who favor institutional methods of representation, support for democracy increases attachment to the traditional political system and decreases protest; for citizens who favor popular methods of representation, it has the opposite impact. I conclude by discussing the implications for scholarship on democratization, which often conflates preferences for democracy with political stability.

Resumen

Resumen

Varias encuestas multinacionales examinan hasta qué punto los ciudadanos de nuevas democracias creen que la democracia es siempre preferible a cualquier otra forma de gobierno. Sin embargo, existe poca evidencia sobre cómo tales actitudes afectan el comportamiento de los ciudadanos. Este artículo examina el caso de Bolivia, investigando si y cómo las actitudes democráticas de los bolivianos afectan la participación política, incluyendo el contacto con funcionarios públicos y la participación en partidos políticos y movimientos sociales. Por medio del análisis de datos de una encuesta a nivel nacional, demuestro que las preferencias por la democracia de los bolivianos tienen poco efecto en su participación en reuniones partidarias o en manifestaciones. Examinando la relación con más profundidad, encuentro que para los bolivianos que prefieren métodos institucionales de participación, el apoyo a la democracia aumenta la adherencia al sistema político tradicional y disminuye la protesta callejera; por otro lado, para los ciudadanos que prefieren la representación popular, el apoyo a la democracia tiene el efecto contrario. Concluyo con una discusión sobre las implicaciones de este artículo para el estudio de la democracia, el cual tiende a equiparar preferencias sobre democracia con estabilidad política.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , 2009 , pp. 102 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association in New Orleans, January 2007. Thanks to the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt University for the use of survey data, which were collected under a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Thanks also to Jonathan Reilly, Mitchell Seligson, John Markoff, Chris Bonneau, Scott Morgenstern, Steven Finkel, the members of the Comparative Politics Reading Group at the University of Pittsburgh, and LARR's anonymous reviewers for their very helpful feedback on previous versions of this article. I also thank the Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh for a research grant enabling fieldwork in Bolivia in 2006. Most important, I am grateful to the many Bolivians who generously made time to answer my questions. All errors in analysis and interpretation are, of course, my own.

References

Almond, Gabriel A., and Verba, Sidney 1989 The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Benson, Michelle, and Rochon, Thomas R. 2004 “Interpersonal Trust and the Magnitude of Protest: A Micro and Macro Level Approach.” Comparative Political Studies 37 (4): 435–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, George F., Oldendick, Robert W., and Tuchfarber, Alfred J. 1984 “What Must My Interest in Politics Be If I Just Told You T Don't Know'?” Public Opinion Quarterly 48 (2): 510–519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Booth, John A., and Seligson, Mitchell A. 2005 “Political Legitimacy and Participation in Costa Rica: Evidence of Arena Shopping.” Political Research Quarterly 58 (4): 537–550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calhoun, Craig 1995 “‘New Social Movements’ of the Early Nineteenth Century.” In Repertoires and Cycles of Collective Action, edited by Traugott, M., 173–215. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, Jean L., and Arato, Andrew 1992 Civil Society and Political Theory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Corporación Latinobarómetro 2004 Informe-Resumen: Latinobarómetro 2004: Una década de mediciones. Santiago, Chile: Corporación Latinobarómetro.Google Scholar
Corporación Latinobarómetro 2005 Informe Latinobarómetro 2005:1995–2005: Diez años de opinión pública, 176.554 entrevistas, 10 mediciones en 18 países. Santiago, Chile: Corporación Latinobarómetro.Google Scholar
Corporación Latinobarómetro 2008 Informe 2008. Santiago, Chile: Corporación Latinobarómetro.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert 1956 A Preface to Democratic Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Diamond, Larry, and Linz, Juan J. 1989 “Introduction: Politics, Society, and Democracy in Latin America.” In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America, edited by Diamond, L., Linz, J. J., and Lipset, S. M., 1–70. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Easton, David 1965 A Systems Analysis of Political Life. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Easton, David 1975 “A Re-Assessment of the Concept of Political Support.” British Journal of Political Science 5 (October): 435–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, Geoffrey, and Whitefield, Stephen 1995 “The Politics and Economics of Democratic Commitment: Support for Democracy in Transition Societies.” British Journal of Political Science 25 (4): 485–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkel, Steven E. 1987 “The Effects of Participation on Political Efficacy and Political Support: Evidence from a West German Panel.” Journal of Politics 49 (2): 441–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkel, Steven E. 1995 Causal Analysis with Panel Data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foley, Michael W., and Edwards, Bob 1996 “The Paradox of Civil Society.” Journal of Democracy 7 (3): 38–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamson, William A. 1968 Power and Discontent. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.Google Scholar
Gibson, James L. 1997 “Mass Opposition to the Soviet Putsch of August 1991: Collective Action, Rational Choice, and Democratic Values in the Former Soviet Union.” American Political Science Review 91 (3): 671–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, Graeme 2000 The Dynamics of Democratization: Elites, Civil Society and the Transition Process. New York: St. Martin's Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giugni, Marco 1999 “How Social Movements Matter: Past Research, Present Problems, Future Developments.” In How Social Movements Matter, edited by Giugni, M., McAdam, D., and Tilly, C. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Hagopian, Frances 2005 “Conclusions: Government Performance, Political Representation, and Public Perceptions of Contemporary Democracy in Latin America.” In The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks, edited by Hagopian, F. and Mainwaring, S., 319–362. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Honaker, James, King, Gary, and Blackwell, Matthew 2006 Amelia II: A Program for Missing Data. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, December 13. http://gking.harvard.edu.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel P. 1991 The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald 1988 “The Renaissance of Political Culture.” American Political Science Review 82 (4): 1203–1230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald 1990 Culture Shift in Advanced Industrial Society. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald 1997 Modernization and Postmodernization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Welzel, Christian 2003 “Democratic Institutions and Political Culture: Problems in Cross-Level Analysis.” Comparative Politics 36 (1): 61–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Welzel, Christian 2005 Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
King, Gary, Honaker, James, Joseph, Anne, and Scheve, Kenneth 2001 “Analyzing Incomplete Political Science Data: An Alternative Algorithm for Multiple Imputation.” American Political Science Review 95 (1): 49–69.10.1017/S0003055401000235CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary, Tomz, Michael, and Wittenberg, Jason 2000 “Making the Most of Statistical Analyses: Improving Interpretation and Presentation.” American Journal of Political Science 44 (2): 341–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klandermans, Bert, and Oegema, Dirk 1987 “Potentials, Networks, Motivations, and Barriers.” American Sociological Review 52 (4): 519–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klingemann, Hans-Dieter 1999 “Mapping Political Support in the 1990s: A Global Analysis.” In Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Governance, edited by Norris, P., 31–56. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laclau, Ernesto, and Mouffe, Chantal 2001 Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London: Verso Press.Google Scholar
Leighley, Jan E. 1991 “Participation as a Stimulus of Political Conceptualization.” Journal of Politics 53 (1): 198–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linz, Juan J. 1994 “Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy: Does It Make a Difference?” In The Failure of Presidential Democracy: The Case of Latin America, edited by Linz, J. J. and Valenzuela, A., 3–88. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J., and Stepan, Alfred 1978 The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J., and Stepan, Alfred 1996 Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Markoff, John 1996 Waves, of Democracy: Social Movements and Political Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, Alan, and Kaase, Max 1979 “Background of Political Action.” In Political Action: Mass Participation in Five Western Democracies, edited by Barnes, S. H. and Kaase, M., 106–112. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Mattes, Robert, and Bratton, Michael 2007 “Learning about Democracy in Africa: Awareness, Performance, and Experience.” American Journal of Political Science 51 (1): 192–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayorga, René Antonio 1997 “Bolivia's Silent Revolution.” Journal of Democracy 8 (1): 142–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayorga, René Antonio 2005 “Bolivia's Democracy at the Crossroads.” In The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks, edited by Hagopian, F. and Mainwaring, S., 149–177. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McAdam, Doug 1988 “Micromobilization Contexts and Recruitment to Activism.” International Social Movement Research 1:125–154.Google Scholar
McDonough, Peter, Shin, Doh C., and Moisés, José Álvaro 1998 “Democratization and Participation: Comparing Spain, Brazil, and Korea.” Journal of Politics 60 (4): 919–953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moreno, Alejandro, and Méndez, Patricia 2002 “Attitudes Toward Democracy: Mexico in Comparative Perspective.” International Journal of Comparative Sociology 43 (3–5): 350–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, Edward N. 1979 Aggressive Political Participation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Muller, Edward N., Jukam, Thomas O., and Seligson, Mitchell A. 1982 “Diffuse Political Support and Antisystem Political Behavior: A Comparative Analysis.” American Journal of Political Science 26 (2): 240–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, Edward N., Seligson, Mitchell A., and Turan, liter 1987 “Education, Participation, and Support for Democratic Norms.” Comparative Politics 20 (1): 19–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munck, Gerardo L. 2001 “The Regime Question: Theory Building in Democracy Studies.” World Politics 54 (1): 119–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, Pippa 1999 Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, Pippa, Walgrave, Stefaan, and Aelst, Peter Van 2005 “Who Demonstrates? Anti-State Rebels, Conventional Participants, or Everyone?” Comparative Politics 37 (2): 189–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo, and Schmitter, Philippe C. 1986 Transitions from Authoritarian Rule. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Payne, J. Mark, G., Daniel Zovatto, Flórez, Fernando Carrillo, and Zavala, Andrés Allamand 2002 Democracies in Development: Politics and Reform in Latin America. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Putnam, Robert D. 1993 Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Rivera, Alberto, Mayorga, Fernando, and Torrez, Yuri 2001 La escuela y la política. Cochabamba, Bolivia: Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Económica y Social.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard, Mishler, William, and Haerpfer, Christian 1998 Democracy and Its Alternatives: Understanding Post-Communist Societies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard, Shin, Doh C., and Munro, Neil 1999 “Tensions between Democratic Ideal and Reality.” In Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Governance, edited by Norris, P. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven J., and Hansen, John Mark 1993 Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Rubin, Donald B. 1987 Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. New York: John Wiley & Sons.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, James C. 1990 Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Seligson, Mitchell A. 2002a “The Renaissance of Political Culture or the Renaissance of the Ecological Fallacy?” Comparative Politics 34 (3): 273–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seligson, Mitchell A. 2002b “Trouble in Paradise? The Erosion of System Support in Costa Rica, 1978–1999.” Latin American Research Review 37 (1): 160–186.Google Scholar
Seligson, Mitchell A. 2005 “Democracy on Ice: The Multiple Challenges of Guatemala's Peace Process.” In The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks, edited by Hagopian, F. and Mainwaring, S., 202–231. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Seligson, Mitchell A., Morales, Daniel Moreno, and Blum, Vivian Schwarz 2005 Auditoría de la Democracia: Informe Bolivia 2004. Nashville, TN: Latin American Public Opinion Project, Vanderbilt University.Google Scholar
Shugart, Matthew Soberg, and Carey, John M. 1992 Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snow, David A., and Benford, Robert D. 1992 “Master Frames and Cycles of Protest.” In Frontiers in Social Movement Theory, edited by Morris, A. D. and Mueller, C. M., 133–155. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Tessler, Mark 2002 “Islam and Democracy in the Middle East: The Impact of Religious Orientations on Attitudes Towards Democracy in Four Arab Countries.” Comparative Politics 34 (April): 337–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilly, Charles 2004 Social Movements, 1768–2004. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.Google Scholar
Tomz, Michael, Wittenberg, Jason, and King, Gary 2001 CLARIFY: Software for Interpreting and Presenting Statistical Results. June 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, June 1. http://gking.harvard.edu.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme 2004 Democracy in Latin America: Towards a Citizens' Democracy. New York: United Nations Development Program.Google Scholar
Weber, Max 1958 “Politics as a Vocation.” In From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, edited by Gerth, H. H. and Mills, C. W., 77–128. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Yashar, Deborah J. 1998 “Contesting Citizenship: Indigenous Movements and Democracy in Latin America.” Comparative Politics 31 (1): 23–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yashar, Deborah J. 2005 Contesting Citizenship in Latin America: The Rise of Indigenous Movements and the Postliberal Challenge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zald, Mayer N. 1996 “Culture, Ideology, and Strategic Framing.” In Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings, edited by McAdam, D., McCarthy, J. D. and Zald, M. N., 261–274. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaller, John R. 1992 The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar