Abstracts (İngilizce özetler)
From Maleconazo to 11J: The political economy of the counter-revolutionary movements in Cuba
ERTAN EROL
The events of July 11, 2021 (11J), in Cuba, could be identified as one of the largest anti-government protests in the country since the famous Maleconazo protests of 1994. At the same time, these recent manifestations of dissent and discontent cannot be isolated from the socio-economic crisis that the country find itself since the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic. While Cuba entered to one of the worst periods of economic crisis in the last 30 years, the economic and political blockade of the USA on the island had been consistently increasing, aiming to aggravate the economic hardships in the island, thus, fuelling the social distress and anti-government sentiments. This study argues that the sui generis economic experience in Cuba had been constituting a very complex relationship between the Cuban society and its political positioning, and therefore it aims to provide a summary of the socioeconomic change on the island and to evaluate the events of July 2021 in this context. Examining the structural transformations undergone by the Cuba’s economy after the 1959 Revolution and the main problems it faced is important in terms of revealing the ongoing economic crisis and its possible consequences.
Keywords: Cuban Revolution, Maleconazo, 11J.
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Mexico and Turkey: Two countries, one story?
SERDAL BAHÇE
The extent to which capitalist development differentiated or resembled different countries and regions historically and socially is not only a historical problem. It is also a theoretical problem about the systemic dynamics of the capitalist mode of production. For the sake of contribution to these two dimensions of the problem, this study compares the basic characteristics of capitalist development in Turkey and Mexico. This study makes this comparison within the framework of five historical periods. In the historical period starting from the second quarter of the 19th century, the differences in the capitalist development of the two countries were more predominant initially while in the last period (early 1980s –today) similarities became more dominant. In fact, in the last period, all traces of the past have been erased recently and the two countries have become almost sharing a single story.
Key words: Mexico, Turkey, capitalist development, integration.
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From Modernization Theory to the present: Debating authoritarianism in Latin America
AYLİN TOPAL
This article aims to show the methodological limitations of the mainstream approaches based on East-West duality by tracing the Weber inspired Eurocentric authoritarianism discussions. While authoritarianism was explained with reference to liberal values and culture of trust in the 1950s and 60s, it was linked to lack of interest representation institutions-induced political instabilities and institutional incapacity. After mapping the outlines of this literature, the article tackles the main arguments behind the concepts of populism, bureaucratic authoritarianism and regime change. Following the historical path, the article examines the authoritarianism discussions in the 2010s focusing on concepts such as democratic backslide, competitive authoritarianism that are used somewhat interchangeably with the concept of neopopulism. The article reveals the problems of attributing external relations among states, markets and society.
Keywords: Modernization Theory, authoritarianism, East-West duality, Latin America.
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The role of local politics in democratization and democratic consolidation: Analysis of Latin American experiences
ÖZGE KEMAHLIOĞLU, ŞEYMA KOÇ
Latin American countries have had relatively more stable electoral democracies in the post-cold war period. Yet, these political systems face important challenges in governments’ responsiveness to social demands, accountability to voters and public institutions, and the political representation of different groups in the society. Particularly in the recent years some countries have experienced backsliding in their electoral democracies or faced social uprisings against their political systems. Strengthening the local governments and local politics is sometimes posed as a solution to these problems. In this study we focus on the cases of Mexico, Chile, and Venezuela to explore how local government institutions and local politics affect electoral competition, representation of different groups, and governments’ accountability and responsiveness to social demands. We observe that democratic improvements are limited in contexts where local governments control limited resources themselves, hence depend on the central government and where there are inequalities among the local governments in terms of resources and opportunities. Yet, even in those limited settings, local governments open up new and alternative space for the opposition that is excluded from the central government.
Keywords: Local politics, municipalities, democracy, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela.
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Populism in Peru, Peru in populism and Fujimorismo after Fujimori
KÂZIM ATEŞ
What does Peru tell about populism to us? This study will seek to answer this question. This paper will pursue the traces of populism in the history of Peru but will not do this to conceive Peru through populism or to tell Peru’s history by utilizing populism. Rather it aims to utilize Peru to conceive populism or to attempt to rethink the theory of populism through Peru’s history. Populist experiences in Peru are very functional cases to test the theory. There are two reasons for this: first, it is possible to see both the classical populist ruptural moment and its populist agent, and the neopopulist ruptural moment and its populist agent, both of which fits well into the definition this paper will defend. Secondly, there are numerous studies that focus on these moments and populist agents in Peru. This gives the chance to question conceptual contends these studies give to populism and to form a more operational concept. Shortly, Peru’ history provides very critical examples to analyze, and rethink the theory of populism.
Keywords: Populism, neopopulism, Peru, APRA, Fujimori.
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From Liberation Theology to neo-Pentecostalism:The role of the church in Brazilian politics
ESRA AKGEMCİ
The legacy of Liberation Theology, which sprouted in Latin America in the 1960s under poverty and oppression, and the influence of Pentecostalism, which has risen rapidly since the 1980s, demonstrate that the church remains an essential component of politics. Liberation Theology took root in the Base Ecclesial Communitie (CEB) within catholic teaching to offer solutions to the poor and oppressed and contributed to the rise of many independent, autonomous social movements from local organizations in slums to workers’ parties and liberation fronts. On the contrary, Pentecostalism, also referred to as the “religion of late capitalism,” emerged as a strong movement within the Evangelical wing of Protestantism and is based on a “theology of prosperity” deploying the belief that God will grant material blessings to the believers. Today, Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal churches create a transnational culture that connects Christians across Latin America and reshapes both social relations and Latin American Christianity and the relationship between religion and politics. The unique conditions of the church in Brazil provided an exceptional opportunity for the rise of Liberation Theology and then Neo-Pentecostalism. The article will first examine the role of Liberation Theology in establishing the Workers’ Party (PT) in Brazil, then focuses on the function of Neo-Pentecostal churches, especially the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD), in Bolsonaro’s rise to power. According to the main argument of the article, the “theology of prosperity”, which replaces the “theology of poverty”, is one of the main factors that led to the rise of a far-right leader to power after 13 years of PT rule.
Keywords: Brazil, Liberation Theology, neo-Pentecostalism, evangelical, church.
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The crossroads of the Pink Tide in Latin America: Democracy experiences in the cases of Venezuela and Bolivia
CELAL ORAL ÖZDEMİR
Since the early years of the 21st century, successive changes in power have occured in Latin American Countries. This process in which leftist parties and leaders came to power was called the pink tide. In this process, the political parties and leaders that came to power applied a new left experience against the political actors who implemented neoliberal economic policies in the last quarter of the 20th century. Governance of the new left politics has brought about political, economic and ideological transformations in these countries. Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, the presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia respectively, on which this study will focus, have become iconic names of this transformation. This study aims to examine the political transformation of Latin America as a result of changes in power in the 21st century under four headings. In the first part of the study, the democratization claims and democratic backsliding of the new left experience are examined. In the second part, the effects of national, regional and global conjuncture on the implemented policies to ensure social justice are discussed. In the third part, this study claims that the new left experience puts forward a new understanding of nationalism. It has been argued that the new understanding of nationalism contributed to the democratization processes in the first years of power and to the authoritarianization processes in the following years. In the last part of the study, the role and limits of the leaders are discussed. It’s the arguement of this study that the newly wealthy class that emerged after the pink
wave in Venzeuela was an obstacle to the democratization of the country. According to this study, social movements in Bolivia had the effects of halting authoritarianism of the MAS government.
Keywords: Chavez, Morales, democracy, Latin America, Pink Tide.
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The interactions between Latin American social movements and left parties in light of historical and contemporary examples
MERT ARSLANALP
This article examines the patterns of political party-social movement interactions in Latin America from a historical and comparative perspective. From the beginning of the 20th century to this day, Latin America has been a region where many left parties and movements have emerged to struggle for social transformation. Even when these parties failed to take power, their interactions with the social and political structures of their countries constituted the backdrop to many of the political processes we observe in the region today. However, we cannot understand the rise and development of the Latin American left without taking account of its interactions with the social movements. Social movements have shaped their constituencies, organizational structures, demands, and ideological orientations. Meanwhile leftist parties have actively supported the movements and played intermediary roles in the achievement of their objectives, yet they have also frequently transformed and demobilized the movements incorporating them into their structures. Party-movement interactions are, thus, shaped historically dynamic relationships of autonomy and dependence; competition and cooperation. The historical development of Latin American left is the outcome of these interactions, to which it partially owes its periodic rejuvenation and therefore global appeal. In this study, Latin American Left’s differ240 ent patterns of engagement with social movements are analyzed in light of historical and contemporary examples from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Ecuador during three regional critical junctures: post-Great Depression, democratic transitions, and post-neoliberal turn. It specifically discusses four patterns: the role of movements in the foundation of political parties, competition and autonomous cooperation between movements and parties, and movement demobilization via party incorporation. As it explores these processes, the article draws upon and contributes to the recent theoretical developments on social movements-political party relations.
Keywords: Social movements, political parties, left, Latin America.
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The experience of making a new constitution in Chile
OYA YEĞEN
Chile entered the process of writing a constitution after the social explosion in the autumn of 2019. In this study, the constitutional order, which contributed to the emergence of the protests, and the process of making a new constitution are examined. First, the historical dimension of the demand from the bottom-up to reform the constitution written during the coup period and to replace it with a democratic new constitution is provided. Then, by considering which methods were followed to implement this demand in the period between 2019-2022, the working methods of the constituent assembly (Convención Constitucional), which is responsible for the constitution drafting is scrutinized. The ongoing constitution-making process in Chile is evaluated according to the criteria of participation, inclusiveness and deliberativeness, and observations are shared. Instead of conclusion, it is argued that, regardless of the content of the constitutional draft, Chile once again functions as a laboratory and provides important lessons on constitution making in stable and consolidated democracies by democratic methods.
Keywords: Constitution making processes, constituent assembly, authoritarian constitution, new constitution, deliberative democracy.
