The Crisis of Democratic Representation in the AndesMay 13-14, 2002Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame During the 2001 conference "Advances and Setbacks in the Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America,” organized by the Kellogg Institute, Andean countries were identified as the Latin American region having the most difficulty in consolidating democracy. Reasons for this region's crisis include the economic changes of the last decade; drug trafficking and the anti-narcotics policy administered out of Washington; the growing inequality and segmentation of these societies; and the violence practiced as much by political actors as by criminal organizations, while the State watches impotently, incapable of adequately responding. Most of these problems are not expressed or dealt with through the traditional channels of mediation and political representation, i.e., political parties. They, too, are in crisis. To replace them, populist and anti-political leaders have emerged, as well as new movements and organizations that demand direct access to decision-making without intermediaries, that is, without politicians. The 2002 conference will offer in-depth analysis of one of the central aspects of the crisis that affects the region: political representation. Traditional forms of representation (especially political parties) are doubtlessly experiencing an acute crisis in the five Andean nations. The collapse of the Venezuelan and Peruvian parties, with the concomitant emergence of anti-political leaders (Fujimori and Chávez), represent perhaps the most serious cases of all. But also alarming are the fragmentation of the Ecuadorian party system and the enormous atomization of political parties in Colombia. In Bolivia, where the parties that played a central role in that country's return to democracy have been maintained until now, a series of anti-party leaders has emerged that threatens the foundations of democracy in that country. The flip side of this increasing fragility of parties as vehicles for political representation is the emergence of other forms of political expression, parallel and even opposed to party-representation. The existence of societies with great inequalities - some of which also present deep ethnic fractures (Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador) and even national ones (for example, the chronic conflict between the mountain and coastal regions in Ecuador) - added to the socioeconomic effects of the reforms implemented since the mid-1980s, make the task of representation even more difficult. As a result, these fragmented societies desperately try to express themselves through an archipelago of organizations and social movements that represent increasingly specific interests. In short, the political representation in the Andean region is suffering from a series of tensions associated with the transformations of the societies in question, as well as with the intermediaries that aim to represent them. This is why it is indispensable to study the theme of political representation, not only "from above," that is, from the formal political institutions, but also "from below," that is, the mobilization of the citizens on the margins of the parties and the electoral mechanisms. What changes are necessary to reform the mechanisms through which the relationship of representation is produced and reproduced? In order to consolidate democracy in the Andean region, it is necessary to reformulate and strengthen the political society, so the complexity and diversity of the society as a whole is effectively considered in making the decisions that affect it. Co-Chairs: Ana María Bejarano Scott Mainwaring Eduardo Pizarro ScheduleMonday, May 138:45 a.m. to 8:55 a.m.: Welcome Scott Mainwaring, Kellogg Institute 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: Parties and Party Systems in Decomposition Chair: Scott Mainwaring Discussants: Michael Coppedge Martin Tanaka, Instituto de Estudios Peruanos Perú Eduardo Pizarro, Visiting Fellow at the Program in Latin American Studies, Princeton University, and Instituto de Estudios Politicos at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia; and Amb. Humberto de la Calle, Representative to the Organization of American States, Colombia 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: New Demands and Populist Responses: Challenges to Democratic Representation Chair: Ana María Bejarano Discussants: Samuel Valenzuela, Alejandro Reyes Daniel Levine, Political Science Dept., University of Michigan, and René Mayorga, CEBEM/FLACSO, Bolivia 4:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: Diplomats on the Crisis of Democratic Representation Chairs: Eduardo Pizarro and Scott Mainwaring Amb. Curtis Kamman, Distinguished Visiting Diplomat, University of Notre Dame, and former ambassador, U.S. Missions to Colombia, Bolivia and Chile Amb. Myles Frechette, former ambassador, U.S. Mission to Colombia Amb. Humberto de la Calle, Representative to the Organization of American States, Colombia Amb. Luis Gallegos, Representative to the United Nations, Ecuador José García , Consul General, Colombian Mission to the United States (Chicago Consulate) Tuesday, May 149:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: Reforming the Institutional Mechanisms of Representation Chair: Christopher Welna Discussants: Ana María Bejarano, Paul Drake Brian Crisp, Political Science Dept., University of Arizona Kathleen O'Neill, Government Department, Cornell University Miriam Kornblith, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración, Venezuela 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Democratic Leaders Discuss the Crisis of Democratic Representation Chair: Eduardo Pizarro Discussants: Frances Hagopian Ricardo Luna (Peru), Edward L. Tinker Visiting Professor, Columbia University Francisco Nieto-Guerrero (Venezuela), Georgetown University For further information, please contact: Holly Rivers (hrivers@nd.edu; 574-631-6023) |
Copyright 2007 • the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the University of Notre Dame
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