Most accounts of the turmoil that shook Argentina in focused on the harmful impact of the financial environment, imprudent policymaking, and institutional weaknesses. These explanations paid little attention to the cultural frames and cognitive patterns that underlie the connection between civil society and political society. Based on a discourse analysis of Internet forums and presidential speeches, this article argues that the Argentine crisis cannot be fully grasped without considering the link between collective behavior and ingrained conceptions of national identity. The analysis finds that national myths and definitional questions of national purpose are key factors in the way citizens behave in the context of an economic and political crisis.he recent economic and political crisis in Argentina has raised many T questions regarding its causes, its distinctive characteristics, and its consequences. One of its most interesting aspects is that it exposed a profound gap between the citizenry and the ''ruling class." Not surprisingly, most economists, political scientists, and media pundits have explained Argentina's crisis and the ensuing "social explosion" by referring to adverse macroeconomic factors, ill-advised policymaking, and institutional dysfunction. Less attention has been given to culturally framed explanations that explore how cognitive patterns influence people's behavior.This article argues that the Argentine crisis of 2001-2 cannot be fully understood without considering how citizen mobilization and the "indictment" of the political class are connected to longstanding conceptions of national identity, particularly to national myths. The Argentine case offers a valuable opportunity to explore the ways that citizens react to definitional questions of national purpose-what kind of country citizens believe they can, should, and want to have-in the midst of an economic and political crisis.This exploration employs cultural and discursive analysis and, in doing so, represents a different perspective with respect to traditional explanations based on the weakness of a "civic culture''-still an 27 28 LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY 47: 4
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