New book by Steve Ellner

Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon

Steve Ellner

Lynne Rienner, January 2008/260 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-58826-560-9 HC $55.00

In this fresh look at Venezuelan politics, Steve Ellner emphasizes the central significance of the country s economic and social cleavages. Ellner's journey through modern Venezuelan history—observing popular masses and social actors as much as political elites and formal institutions—fundamentally informs his analysis of Hugo Chávez's presidency and the "Bolivarian Revolution" at its core. Perhaps equally important, as he explores the rise of Chávismo, opposition within the country and abroad, internal tensions in the Chávista movement, and the trajectory of the Chávez government domestically and on the international stage, he sheds new light not only on Venezuela, but also on the recent political turmoil elsewhere in Latin America.

CONTENTS:
Foreword—Kenneth Roberts.
Introduction: Rethinking Venezuelan Politics.
From the Colonial Period to 1958: A Brief Overview.
Venezuela's "Model" Democracy, 1958-1989.
Neoliberal Reforms and Political Crisis, 1989-1999.
The Four Stages of the Chávez Presidency.
Conflicting Currents in the Chávez Movement.
The Chávez Movement's Top-Down and Grassroots Approaches.
The Chávez Government in the International Arena.
Conclusion.

Hsieh et al. on how Venezuala's government punishes the opposition (and how the opposition punishes government supporters)

Abstract: Do individuals who join the political opposition pay an economic price? We study this question using unique information on individual political activity from Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela, the Maisanta database. The names of millions of pro-opposition supporters who signed recall petitions (seeking to remove Chávez from office) during 2002-2003, and the names of progovernment supporters who signed counter-petitions, were made public. Media accounts detail how this information has been utilized by both sides: by the Government to punish opposition supporters and firms, and by the overwhelmingly pro-opposition private sector to discriminate against government supporters in hiring. After linking this political database to both national household survey and manufacturing firm data, we find that pro-opposition individuals experience significant drops in total earnings after 2003. There is extensive churning in the labor market: pro-opposition individuals disproportionately leave public sector employment and pro-government individuals leave private sector employment. Pro-opposition firms have falling total employment, less access to foreign exchange, and rising tax burdens (possibly due to selective audits). The misallocation of resources associated with political polarization between 1999-2004 contributed to a decline of 5% in TFP in our sample. To the extent other regimes can identify and punish the political opposition, these findings may help explain why dislodging authoritarian regimes often proves difficult in less developed countries.

Chang-Tai Hsieh, Edward Miguel, Daniel Ortega and Francisco Rodriguez (2007), “The Price of Political Opposition: Evidence from Venezuela’s Maisanta,” unpublished paper. Available here (from Political Science Weblog).

Tilly on the Bolivarian Revolution

The most recent APSA Comparative Politics section newsletter (in my mailbox this morning) has an interesting piece by Charles Tilly on Venezuela’s “Bolivarian” revolution. In it, he criticizes whether Bolívar was a “democrat” at all & goes on to provide a sociological critique from democratic theory. It’s worth a look.

Dietz & Myers on Party System Collapse in Venezuela and Peru

Abstract: What conditions facilitate party system collapse, the farthest-reaching variant of party system change? How does collapse occur? Numerous studies of lesser types of party system change exist, but studies of party system collapse are rare. This study draws on the existing literature and the cases of party system collapse in Venezuela (1988–2000) and Peru (1985–95) to advance some answers to the important questions about the phenomenon. The study posits three conditions that predispose political party systems to collapse: the presence of an acute or sustained crisis that questions the ability of system-sustaining political parties to govern; extremely low or extremely high levels of party system institutionalization; and the emergence of an anti-establishment figure with the desire and personal authority to generate a viable alternative to the established party system. The study also posits a three-election sequential process during which collapse takes place.

Henry A. Dietz and David J. Myers (2007), “From Thaw to Deluge: Party System Collapse in Venezuela and Peru,” Latin American Politics & Society 49 (2): 59-86.