Kirjahaku

Democracy, Agency, and the State aims to contribute to a comparatively informed theory of democracy. Professor O'Donnell begins by arguing that conceptions of 'the state' and 'democracy', and their respective defining features, significantly influence each other. Using an approach that is both historical and analytical, he traces this relationship through the idea of legally sanctioned and backed agency which grounds democratic citizenship. From this standpoint he explores several aspects of the democratic regime and of the state, distinguishing four constitutive dimensions (bureaucracy, legality, focus of collective identity, and filter). He goes on to examine the role played by the idea of 'the nation' or 'the people', and the ways in which the state represents itself to different sections of society, especially in countries marred by deep inequality and pervasive poverty. Drawing on the examples of democratic and non-democratic regime, he discusses the dialogical spaces congenial to democracy, as well as examining the options that may or may not enable agency, and the complex comparative and ethical issues raised by the intersection of agency with globalization and legal pluralism.Throughout these discussions several comparative vistas are opened, especially but not exclusively toward Latin America. The book concludes by offering a justification of democracy, even of the flawed democracies that nowadays abound. 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, Official Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

The central, driving theme of this volume is democracy, its vicissitudes and its possibilities in Latin America. Guillermo O'Donnell considers the pattern of political and social alliances that have shaped Argentina's agitated history, and focuses on the tensions and intrinsic weaknesses of bureaucratic-authoritarianism, especially in its most repressive guises, at a time when it projected itself as an enduring, efficient, and potentially legitimate form of political authority. He includes detailed empirical analysis of daily life under extremely repressive regimes and argues throughout that the struggle for democracy is the most appropriate way, both morally and strategically, to take advantage of the fissures and tensions that close examination discovers behind the bureaucratic-authoritarianism facade. Counterpoints is a successful mix of personal experience and meticulous scholarship—a trajectory of O'Donnell's work that starts with the critique of authoritarianism and ends with a close examination of presently existing democracies in Latin America. His discussion of the flaws of the new democracies originating from defective institutionalism and extreme social inequalities is especially valuable for scholars of democracy and democratization, comparative politics, and Latin American politics.

Guillermo O'Donnell here brings together a collection of significant recent essays in which he considers both the method for and substance of critiques of democracies. While progress has been made in democratization, the authoritarian legacy hangs as a shadow over that advancement. O'Donnell engages in his analysis while keeping a firm gaze on that dangerous past. O'Donnell's work has influenced a generation of political scientists. The essays in this volume bring forward and develop many of the ideas presented in his earlier collection, Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democracy

Guillermo O'Donnell here brings together a collection of significant recent essays in which he considers both the method for and substance of critiques of democracies. While progress has been made in democratization, the authoritarian legacy hangs as a shadow over that advancement. O'Donnell engages in his analysis while keeping a firm gaze on that dangerous past. O'Donnell's work has influenced a generation of political scientists. The essays in this volume bring forward and develop many of the ideas presented in his earlier collection, Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democracy

Bureaucratic Authoritarianism: Argentina, 1966–1973, in Comparative Perspective provides a rigorous and multidimensional analysis of Argentina’s political and economic trajectory during a pivotal period in its history. Through the lens of the bureaucratic-authoritarian (BA) state, the book explores the complex interactions between structural conditions, institutional frameworks, and the perceptions of key actors. By situating Argentina’s experience within a comparative framework—including Brazil post-1964, Uruguay and Chile after 1973, and Argentina’s subsequent BA regime after 1976—this study offers valuable insights into the origins, dynamics, and consequences of authoritarian rule. Combining empirical data, historical narratives, and theoretical critique, the book examines the profound social and economic costs of authoritarian governance. It interrogates the ideological and structural conditions that fostered political violence and recurrent authoritarianism, while reflecting on the enduring impact of the 1966–1973 crises on Argentina's political evolution. Written with both academic rigor and a personal commitment to understanding Argentina’s turbulent history, this volume provides essential reading for scholars of political science, Latin American studies, and modern history. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1988.

Bureaucratic Authoritarianism: Argentina, 1966–1973, in Comparative Perspective provides a rigorous and multidimensional analysis of Argentina’s political and economic trajectory during a pivotal period in its history. Through the lens of the bureaucratic-authoritarian (BA) state, the book explores the complex interactions between structural conditions, institutional frameworks, and the perceptions of key actors. By situating Argentina’s experience within a comparative framework—including Brazil post-1964, Uruguay and Chile after 1973, and Argentina’s subsequent BA regime after 1976—this study offers valuable insights into the origins, dynamics, and consequences of authoritarian rule. Combining empirical data, historical narratives, and theoretical critique, the book examines the profound social and economic costs of authoritarian governance. It interrogates the ideological and structural conditions that fostered political violence and recurrent authoritarianism, while reflecting on the enduring impact of the 1966–1973 crises on Argentina's political evolution. Written with both academic rigor and a personal commitment to understanding Argentina’s turbulent history, this volume provides essential reading for scholars of political science, Latin American studies, and modern history. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1988.