Candidate:Miguel Centellas

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Political Science

Title:Democracy on Stilts: Bolivia's Democracy from Stability to Crisis

Committee:
Dr. Gunther Hega, Co-Chair
Dr. Emily Hauptmann, Co-Chair
Dr. Sybil Rhodes
Dr. Mark Jones


Date: Monday, October 16, 2006 4:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
3301 Friedmann Hall

Abstract: Bolivia’s recent political crisis starkly contrasts to the preceding two decades of relative democratic stability. Though a unique system of parliamentarized presidentialism together with lingering consensus on the national project inherited from the 1952 Revolution supported democratic stability, using qualitative and quantitative methods, this study shows that seemingly benign changes in institutional design made in 1994 contributed to the acceleration of already existing tendencies towards divisive sectoral regional and ethnic politics. A key observation is that successful long-term democratization requires both institutions for adequately channeling and representing social demands and a shared vision of a political “imagined community” that encourages both pluralism and civic attachment. The study ends with a discussion of the ongoing political crisis and speculation about when and to what degree institutional design can help promote nation building in divided societies.

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