Democracy has always been an especially volatile form of government, and efforts to create it in places like Iraq need to take into account the historical conditions for its success and sustainability. In this book, Joel Horowitz examines its first appearance in a country that appeared to satisfy all the criteria that political development theorists of the 1950s and 1960s identified as crucial. This experiment lasted in Argentina from 1916 to 1930, when it ended in a military coup that left a troubled political legacy for decades to come. What explains the initial success but ultimate failure of democracy during this period?
Horowitz challenges previous interpretations that emphasize the role of clientelism and patronage. He argues that they fail to account fully for the Radical Party government's ability to mobilize widespread popular support. Instead, by comparing the administrations of Hipólito Yrigoyen and Marcelo T. de Alvear, he shows how much depended on the image that Yrigoyen managed to create for himself: a secular savior who cared deeply about the less fortunate, and the embodiment of the nation. But the story is even more complex because, while failing to instill personalistic loyalty, Alvear did succeed in constructing strong ties with unions, which played a key role in undergirding the strength of both leaders' regimes.
Later successes and failures of Argentine democracy, from Juan Perón through the present, cannot be fully understood without knowing the story of the Radical Party in this earlier period.
Democracy has always been an especially volatile form of government, and efforts to create it in places like Iraq need to take into account the historical conditions for its success and sustainability. In this book, Joel Horowitz examines its first appearance in a country that appeared to satisfy all the criteria that political development theorists of the 1950s and 1960s identified as crucial. This experiment lasted in Argentina from 1916 to 1930, when it ended in a military coup that left a troubled political legacy for decades to come. What explains the initial success but ultimate failure of democracy during this period?
Horowitz challenges previous interpretations that emphasize the role of clientelism and patronage. He argues that they fail to account fully for the Radical Party government's ability to mobilize widespread popular support. Instead, by comparing the administrations of Hipólito Yrigoyen and Marcelo T. de Alvear, he shows how much depended on the image that Yrigoyen managed to create for himself: a secular savior who cared deeply about the less fortunate, and the embodiment of the nation. But the story is even more complex because, while failing to instill personalistic loyalty, Alvear did succeed in constructing strong ties with unions, which played a key role in undergirding the strength of both leaders' regimes.
Later successes and failures of Argentine democracy, from Juan Perón through the present, cannot be fully understood without knowing the story of the Radical Party in this earlier period.
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Economic and Political Setting
2. Creating the Image: Construction of the Images of Yrigoyen and Alvear
3. The Limits of Patronage
4. When Bosses and Workers Agreed: The Failure of Social Welfare Legislation
5. Yrigoyen and the Limitations of Obrerismo, 1916–1922
6. Alvear and the Attempted Establishment of an Institutionalized Relationship with Labor, 1922–1928
7. Yrigoyen and the Failure to Reestablish Obrerismo, 1928–1930
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Joel Horowitz is Professor of History at Saint Bonaventure University, USA.
“At a time when historical scholarship on Latin America is awash in
postmodern cultural and gender studies, often dealing with subjects
of trivial consequence, Joel Horowitz’s book tackles an enormously
important subject. Argentina’s Unión Cívica Radical was Latin
America’s first mass-based political party, arguably the first to
emerge in the former colonial world. The UCR’s history ranks with
that of the Congress Party in India and a handful of other examples
of attempts to institutionalize and democratize politics on the
remnants of colonial structures and practices. The UCR thus
occupies a prominent place not only in Argentina’s history but also
in the history of twentieth-century democracy. This is a story ripe
for a reassessment. Horowitz provides the most detailed study of
labor politics in the decade that exists in any language; no
historian, even from Argentina, has his command and understanding
of the politics of labor in this decade. He covers all the major
ideological tendencies, labor confederations, and key unions with
absolute mastery. His research is extraordinarily deep here, and
the chapters are brimming with insights. The publication of Joel
Horowitz’s book confirms Penn State University Press’s status as
the leading English-language publisher of Argentine history.”—James
P. Brennan, University of California, Riverside
“This book sheds new light on a crucial chapter in the struggle for
democracy in Argentina. Drawing on approaches from political and
labor history, Horowitz’s study examines the complex negotiations
among party leaders, state officials, and working people that
shaped public life during the heyday of Radical Party rule. In the
process, it questions familiar assumptions regarding cronyism and
popular politics associated with the Argentine republic in the
early twentieth century.”—Eduardo Elena, University of Miami
“[Joel Horowitz] has made a fantastic contribution to the
historiography with this finely researched monograph.”—M. E. Kehren
Choice
“Joel Horowitz has written a thoughtful and well-researched book
for a period of Argentina’s history much in need of further
understanding.”—Paula Alonso American Historical Review
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
