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Political Convergence in South America

Eriksson, Jonas LU (2010) STVK01 20101
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This case study considers what appears to be a political convergence in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Four political transitions that have occurred in all three countries are studied: the military coups of 1964, 1973 and 1976, the transitions back to democracy, the implementations of liberal economic reforms, and the recent turns leftwards.
Three different types of explanations are presented, each representing a different view on the question of structure versus agency. These explanations build on theories of diffusion, theories of political cycles and the impact of external factors. Each type of explanation is then analysed separately, resulting in three different analyses.
I argue that diffusion seems to have the best explanatory... (More)
This case study considers what appears to be a political convergence in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Four political transitions that have occurred in all three countries are studied: the military coups of 1964, 1973 and 1976, the transitions back to democracy, the implementations of liberal economic reforms, and the recent turns leftwards.
Three different types of explanations are presented, each representing a different view on the question of structure versus agency. These explanations build on theories of diffusion, theories of political cycles and the impact of external factors. Each type of explanation is then analysed separately, resulting in three different analyses.
I argue that diffusion seems to have the best explanatory potential, although political cycles also deliver reasonable explanations, whereas the external factors studied – the US and the IMF – fail to give a satisfactory explanation on either transition.
In parity with the conclusions of Graham Allison’s Essence of Decision, the most important insight of this thesis is, however, the importance of the perspective for how we understand the problem. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Eriksson, Jonas LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A Case Study of Synchronous Political Phases in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay
course
STVK01 20101
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
political cycles, diffusion, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, political convergence, external factors, synchronous political phases, Allison
language
English
id
1608381
date added to LUP
2010-06-30 16:54:47
date last changed
2010-06-30 16:54:47
@misc{1608381,
  abstract     = {{This case study considers what appears to be a political convergence in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Four political transitions that have occurred in all three countries are studied: the military coups of 1964, 1973 and 1976, the transitions back to democracy, the implementations of liberal economic reforms, and the recent turns leftwards. 
Three different types of explanations are presented, each representing a different view on the question of structure versus agency. These explanations build on theories of diffusion, theories of political cycles and the impact of external factors. Each type of explanation is then analysed separately, resulting in three different analyses.
I argue that diffusion seems to have the best explanatory potential, although political cycles also deliver reasonable explanations, whereas the external factors studied – the US and the IMF – fail to give a satisfactory explanation on either transition. 
In parity with the conclusions of Graham Allison’s Essence of Decision, the most important insight of this thesis is, however, the importance of the perspective for how we understand the problem.}},
  author       = {{Eriksson, Jonas}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Political Convergence in South America}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}