The institutionalization of “serial personalization” in Argentina's Peronist Party, 1983–2023

Abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this article is to explain how Peronism, an allegedly personalist party, has managed to institutionalize its internal power struggles and its succession procedures since democratization in 1983.MethodsThe authors employ the common conceptual framework developed for this special issue. Evidence is drawn from public media, scholarly sources, and participant observation. A two‐tier approach to party adaptation is developed to distinguish the capacity to adjust to electoral challenges from the capacity to adjust to governmental challenges.Results and conclusionThe authors develop the concept of “serial personalization” to describe an informally routinized feature by which middle‐rank and subnational leaders transfer their loyalty from one personalistic leader to another as long as he or she delivers the best possible electoral performance and, when in office, fiscal transferences.