Latin America harbors a unique place in political science. While political trends like elitism and populism arise elsewhere in the world, their persistence, frequent reoccurrence, strength, and development makes their Latin American forms of particular analytical interest. Latin American society is deeply traditional and politically elitist, but not immune to the influence of democratic ideals. After elites, transitioning out of monarchial rule and into modern politics, failed to actuate ideological goals of legitimate representative government, a reactionary movement aimed at the same principles arose. This paper will discuss the characteristics and historical development of elitism and populism in Latin America to show that populism was born out of Latin American elitist politics problematic transition into modernity. Furthermore, it will examine the general understanding of populism as a concept and its value in political and historical analysis.
Elitism is rule by the......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 3192
Approximate Pages: 13 (260 words per double-spaced page) |