Book Review: Clientelism, Social Policy and the Quality of Democracy

[...]his call to look at 'where the action is' was taken up by almost all of the authors in the Latin American section. Eaton and Chambers clearly assert however that clientelism should be understood in its embeddedness in social relations, arguing primarily that institutional reforms cann...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of Latin American Studies Vol. 48; no. 2; p. 421
Main Author:	FENWICK, TRACY BECK
Format:	Book Review
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01-05-2016
Subjects:	Case studies Clientelism Decentralization Democracy Democratization Interpersonal relations Patronage Political representation Politicians Politics Social policy Society Theory Voters Colombia Argentina United States > US Philippines Japan Africa Thailand Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America India Asia Brazil Chile Peru Baltimore Maryland
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Summary:	[...]his call to look at 'where the action is' was taken up by almost all of the authors in the Latin American section. Eaton and Chambers clearly assert however that clientelism should be understood in its embeddedness in social relations, arguing primarily that institutional reforms cannot eliminate it. [...]decentralisation is not the cause of clientelism in Colombia or elsewhere, rather it is yet another institutional reform that enables its metamorphosis. Returning to the factors previous chapters highlighted, Cook concludes that East Central European states had a weak capacity to supply clientelistic institutions, primarily because they were not embedded in society, plus there was not a strong demand from 'clients' because the conditions that create them, poverty, basic needs and limited opportunities that make selling one's loyalty seem like a good option, were largely absent.
ISSN:	0022-216X 1469-767X
DOI:	10.1017/S0022216X16000213