Eduardo Aleman - Böcker

In this volume, twelve experts on Latin American politics investigate the ways in which the interaction between legislative institutions and the policy positions of key actors affects the initiation and passage of legislation, covering seven Latin American Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. These seven presidential systems vary widely in terms of their legislative institutions and the position of relevant actors.The introduction provides a framework to understand the interaction of legislative majorities, political institutions, and policy position, and each chapter begins with a description of the constitutional and congressional rules that allocate powers to propose, amend, and veto legislation. The authors then identify the political actors who have these prerogatives and apply the framework to show how their policy positions and relative strengths influence legislative decision-making. The findings are consistent with the basic argument of the book that presidents with extensive legislative powers may be constrained by the positions of their legislative allies, whereas weaker presidents may be well-positioned to build successful coalitions to achieve their legislative goals. The essays in this volume demonstrate that institutional design, which determines the allocation of legislative powers, must be considered along with the policy preferences of key legislative actors in order to construct a full picture of law-making.Oxford Studies in Democratization is a series for scholars and students of comparative politics and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on the comparative study of the democratization process that accompanied the decline and termination of the cold war. The geographical focus of the series is primarily Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and relevant experiences in Africa and Asia. The series editor is Laurence Whitehead, Senior Research Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

Eduardo Alemán provides a definitive institutional account of how Chile's party system was remade—and ultimately undone—after authoritarian rule.In Political Institutions and Party System Change in Chile, Eduardo Alemán offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of Chile's party system, tracing its evolution from the 1930s through the early 2020s. He begins with an analysis of how parties interacted before 1973, establishing a historical baseline both for understanding how the post-authoritarian configuration diverged from its predecessors and for tracing how patterns of competition evolved. Alemán then examines how a major realignment following the end of military rule (1973–1990) produced a distinctive, remarkably stable post-authoritarian party system and investigates why that system unraveled nearly three decades later.Drawing from extensive original data on presidential cabinets, congressional voting, bill initiation, and elections, Alemán explores interparty competition across three core arenas: governmental, electoral, and legislative. He documents the importance of institutional arrangements inherited from the military regime by the new government and dissects how the 2015 electoral reform that eliminated the binomial system contributed to its demise.Ultimately, Alemán challenges sociological and continuity-based interpretations of Chilean politics and presents a conceptual framework for analyzing stability and change in party systems more broadly.