The third wave of studies on clientelism in Latin America: a critical reading

Abstract

The article presents a critical reading of the third wave of studies on clientelism in Latin America produced in Political Science since the 2000s. Through a dialogue with the most influential authors and works on the issue, the objective is to show that despite significant advances, this literature still faces difficulties in defining clientelism. The central argument is that these difficulties are due to the adoption of universal and rigid assumptions about politicians’ and voters’ behavior and the strong normative tone of the analyses, almost always grounded on premises of how democracy should work and how clientelism displaces this ideal. To demonstrate this argument, the concept of clientelism was broken down into four central aspects: the object of the exchanges, the participants, the method used, and the temporality. The analysis of these dimensions is articulated with the literature on concept formation, especially the criteria of differentiation, depth, internal coherence, and theoretical utility. The article concludes by proposing ways to overcome the highlighted problems, among them the re-evaluation of the premises that inform the analysis, the valorization of description, and the investment in multi-method research designs.