Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados vol. 49 n. 4 Rio de Janeiro 2006
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Abstract
After a centuries-old history of oligarchic, populist, and authoritarian institutionality, in recent decades South America has begun the transition to a liberal democratic state model. This new state model harbors the contradiction of being both more democratic and less capable. Namely, it allows public participation and dissent, but with more limited conditions to respond, a role that has been largely transferred to the market, which has become globalized and more complex, while experiencing difficulties in meeting social demands. The tension between democracy and economic limitations, combined with endogenous institutional problems, has sustained a climate of permanent political instability in parts of South America, reproducing fragmentations and conflicts, which are the focus of this study, a comparative analysis of five Andean countries: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.
Keywords: Andean countries, political instability, social fragmentation
DOI: 10.1590/S0011-52582006000400005
Andean democracies: late to the party?
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