Rulers and the Ruled: Patterned Inequality and the Onset of Mass Political Violence

1988 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 491-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manus I. Midlarsky

The theory of patterned inequality between rulers and ruled provides a valuable analytic approach to the relationship between inequality and political violence. Under conditions of a bifurcated pattern of inequality, the probability of political violence is likely to be greater than under a more generalized inequality typically measured by the Gini index. A strong systematic relationship between patterned inequality in Latin American landholdings and deaths from political violence was discovered using the exponential distribution as a model for the lower portion of the land distribution and the log-exponential for the upper. This degree of association was far stronger than that found between the Gini index of land inequality in Latin America and deaths from political violence. Evidence supporting the theory was also found in an analysis of Middle Eastern landholdings.

1989 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward N. Muller ◽  
Mitchell A. Seligson ◽  
Hung-der Fu ◽  
Manus I. Midlarsky

Considerable research effort has been invested in establishing the appropriate relationship between patterns of land distribution and political violence. In an article in the June 1988 issue of the Review, Manus I. Midlarsky proposed and tested a new measure of the distribution of land, which he called “patterned inequality.” He presented supporting evidence with data from Latin American and Middle Eastern countries. In this controversy, Midlarsky's analysis is challenged by Edward N. Mutter, Mitchell A. Seligson, and Hung-der Fu. They advocate an alternative measure of land inequality, test its effect on levels of political violence in Latin America, and find it wanting. In his rejoinder, Midlarsky offers new analytical support for his claims.


Author(s):  
Esteban Torres ◽  
Carina Borrastero

This article analyzes how the research on the relation between capitalism and the state in Latin America has developed from the 1950s up to the present. It starts from the premise that knowledge of this relation in sociology and other social sciences in Latin America has been taking shape through the disputes that have opposed three intellectual standpoints: autonomist, denialist, and North-centric. It analyzes how these standpoints envision the relationship between economy and politics and how they conceptualize three regionally and globally growing trends: the concentration of power, social inequality, and environmental depletion. It concludes with a series of challenges aimed at restoring the theoretical and political potency of the autonomist program in Latin American sociology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Spencer P. Chainey ◽  
Gonzalo Croci ◽  
Laura Juliana Rodriguez Forero

Most research that has examined the international variation in homicide levels has focused on structural variables, with the suggestion that socio-economic development operates as a cure for violence. In Latin America, development has occurred, but high homicide levels remain, suggesting the involvement of other influencing factors. We posit that government effectiveness and corruption control may contribute to explaining the variation in homicide levels, and in particular in the Latin America region. Our results show that social and economic structural variables are useful but are not conclusive in explaining the variation in homicide levels and that the relationship between homicide, government effectiveness, and corruption control was significant and highly pronounced for countries in the Latin American region. The findings highlight the importance of supporting institutions in improving their effectiveness in Latin America so that reductions in homicide (and improvements in citizen security in general) can be achieved.


2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep M. Colomer

AbstractThis article discusses the relationship between certain institutional regulations of voting rights and elections, different levels of electoral participation, and the degree of political instability in several Latin American political experiences. A formal model specifies the hypotheses that sudden enlargements of the electorate may provoke high levels of political instability, especially under plurality and other restrictive electoral rules, while gradual enlargements of the electorate may prevent much electoral and political innovation and help stability. Empirical data illustrate these hypotheses. A historical survey identifies different patterns of political instability and stability in different countries and periods, which can be compared with the adoption of different voting rights regulations and electoral rules either encouraging or depressing turnout.


2021 ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Yakov Shemyakin

The article substantiates the thesis that modern Native American cultures of Latin America reveal all the main features of "borderland" as a special state of the socio-cultural system (the dominant of diversity while preserving the unity sui generis, embodied in the very process of interaction of heterogeneous traditions, structuring linguistic reality in accordance with this dominant, the predominance of localism in the framework of the relationship between the universal and local dimensions of the life of Latin American societies, the key role of archaism in the system of interaction with the heritage of the 1st "axial time», first of all, with Christianity, and with the realities of the "second axial time" - the era of modernization. The author concludes that modern Indian cultures are isomorphic in their structure to the "borderline" Latin American civilization, considered as a "coalition of cultures" (K. Levi-Strauss), which differ significantly from each other, but are united at the deepest level by an extremely contradictory relationship of its participants.


2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiane de Andrade Lucena Carneiro

This article addresses the consequences of economic sanctions for the protection of human rights in Latin America. The literature on sanctions and compliance informs three hypotheses, which investigate the relationship between sanctions and the level of rights protection in two groups of countries: those that were targeted by sanctions and those that were not. Using data from the Political Terror Scale (PTS) and from Freedom House, I find empirical evidence that sanctions do improve the level of protection in countries that were not targeted. This finding can be explained by the deterrent effect attributed to sanctions by the compliance literature, broadly interpreted. The presence of economic sanctions in a given year increases the probability of observing better human rights practices by almost 50%. These results hold for the 12 Latin American countries that were not subject to economic sanctions for the period 1976-2004.


2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (315) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Verónica Cerezo García ◽  
Heri Oscar Landa Díaz

<p>El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el efecto de la liberalización comercial sobre la productividad, la distribución del ingreso y el crecimiento económico, además de examinar la capacidad de absorción que este proceso ha concedido a los países ante choques externos, como el Covid-19. Empíricamente, tomamos pie en la taxonomía de crecimiento y desigualdad de Fajnzylber (1990) y en un modelo panel para evaluar esta relación en Asia, América Latina y Europa durante el periodo 1990-2019. Los principales resultados muestran: 1) co-movimiento entre crecimiento y equidad en Asia, mientras que en América Latina hay rezagos significativos, y 2) la productividad y la competitividad no precio constituyen el factor dinamizante en Asia y Europa.</p><p align="center"><strong> </strong></p><p align="center">ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INEQUALITY IN ASIA, EUROPE, AND LATIN AMERICA, 1990-2019</p><p align="center"><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>The paper’s aim is to analyse the effect of trade liberalization on productivity, income distribution and economic growth. The ability of a free-market oriented economy to fence off an exogenous shock such as the Covid-19 pandemic is also dealt with. Following Fajnzylber’s (1990) taxonomy of growth and inequality, we assess the relationship between trade liberalisation, growth and income distribution for a sample set of Asian, Latin American, and European countries over the period 1990-2019. Our main empirical results show that there exist: 1) a co-movement between growth and equality in Asia, but significant lags in both respects prevail in Latin America; 2) productivity and non-price competitiveness are the dynamizing factors in both Asia and Europe</p>


Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Azadi ◽  
Eric Vanhaute

Land plays an important role in the economies of developing countries, and many theories connecting land inequality with different dimensions of economic development already exist. Even though efficacious land distribution allows societies to transition from poverty to a human capital-based developed economy, ongoing issues related to property rights, inequality, and the political economy of land distribution are unavoidable. The general objective of this paper is to explore the nexus between land distribution and economic development. The specific objectives are to: (i) identify which land distribution programs/activities contribute to economic development; (ii) investigate the role of stakeholders in land distribution programs that affect the growth of productivity; and (iii) assess the deficiencies of current land distribution policies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to explore how economic development theories contribute to decreasing income inequality. This paper provides an overview of land distribution history and the main economic development theories. It also highlights the links between land distribution and the main elements of economic development. Finally, it provides a comparative review of the most recent empirical works regarding the characteristics, limitations, and potential (mutual) effects of land distribution and economic development settings on developing countries worldwide.


2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Reyes-Housholder

AbstractSince 1999, women have democratically won the presidency eight times in Latin America and have named hundreds of ministers. This study argues that under certain conditions,presidentasare more likely than male presidents to improve women's cabinet representation. Two mechanisms,presidentamandates and gendered networks, appear to drive the relationship. Furthermore, because the pool of ministerial candidates is shallower for women than for men,presidentasare most likely to advance women's representation in cabinets at the beginning of their term and for “feminine” ministries. A case study of Michelle Bachelet's 2006 ministerial appointments reveals initial evidence for the argument. Empirical implications are then tested with an original dataset of 1,908 ministers of all democratically elected Latin American presidents since 1999. Model results are consistent with the theory thatpresidentasare most likely to “make a difference” when they are least constrained by the supply of female ministerial candidates.


1991 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Serbin

In 1990, the relationship between the states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Latin American states of the Caribbean Basin seemed to have entered a new phase characterized by movement toward convergence, rapprochement, and initiatives of horizontal cooperation. This situation contrasts sharply with a past marked by persistent tensions and divergent views, rooted in legacies dating from colonial times of mutually disqualifying ethno-historical perceptions and boundary disputes and marked by frequent differences within the context of international organizations (Serbín, 1989a, 1989b, 1990d; Serbín and Bryan, 1990).


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