Oxford University Press Conservative Party-Building in Latin America: Authoritarian Inheritance and Counterrevolutionary Struggle

Where do strong conservative parties come from? While there is a growing scholarly awareness about the importance of such parties for democratic stability, much less is known about their origins. In this groundbreaking book, James Loxton takes up this question by examining new conservative parties formed in Latin America between 1978 and 2010. The most successful cases, he finds, shared a surprising characteristic: they had deep roots in former dictatorships. Through a comparative analysis of failed and successful cases in Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, and Guatemala, Loxton argues that this was not a coincidence. The successes inherited a range of resources from outgoing authoritarian regimes that, paradoxically, gave them an advantage in democratic competition. He also highlights the role of intense counterrevolutionary struggle as a source of party cohesion. In addition to making an empirical contribution to the study of the Latin American right and a theoretical contribution to the study of party-building, Loxton advances our understanding of the worldwide phenomenon of "authoritarian successor parties"―parties that emerge from authoritarian regimes but that operate after a transition to democracy. A major work, Conservative Party-Building in Latin America will reshape our understanding of politics in contemporary Latin America and the realities of democratic transitions everywhere. Review The author provides four painstakingly researched chapters offering historically rich narratives on the successes of the ARENA and UDI parties and the struggles of their Argentine and Guatemalan counterparts. This is comparative political science at its best. ― Russell Crandall & Britta Crandall, SurvivalThis is comparative political science at its best. ― Survival: Global Politics and StrategyDemocracies need strong conservative parties. But in the modern era, strong conservative parties are hard to build. Loxton's book uncovers a surprising but important path to party-building. This is simply the best book on the Latin American Right that I have read. It makes a major contribution to our understanding of party-building, not only in Latin America but worldwide. Anyone interested in political parties should read it. ― Steven Levitsky, David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government, Harvard UniversityLoxton patiently unveils the mechanisms of continuity in a subset of conservative parties that prospered paradoxically in democratic politics as unapologetic heirs of authoritarianism. His book is a counter-intuitive, masterfully-crafted, and field-defining study of conservative party development and Latin American politics. ― Edward L. Gibson, Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University, and author of Class and Conservative PartiesIn this extraordinarily bold, original, and persuasive study, Loxton reckons with the uncomfortable conclusion that the most successful parties of the political right in contemporary Latin America grew out of the dictatorial past. Conservative Party-Building in Latin America sheds light not only on the Latin American right but also on the dynamics of party building more broadly. It is a study holding lessons that promise to withstand the test of time. ― Wendy Hunter, Professor of Government, University of Texas, AustinThis is an excellent book with a clear argument about how seemingly-defeated authoritarian political forces manage to survive and stay relevant after transitions to democracy. The book comes with a transparent, well-justified case selection. Loxton presents a wealth of historical data on parties that are understudied―this alone will provide readers with hard-to-find information on an important part of Latin America's party history. ― Javier Corrales, Professor and Chair of Political Science, Amherst College and author of Fixing DemocracyThis book is a landmark not only in the study of party-building, but also in the st