The Politics of Clientelism: Democracy and the State in Colombia

In Latin America the state is theprime regulator, coordinator, and pace-setter of the entire national system, the apex of thepyramid from which patronage, wealth, power, and programs flow. The state bears responsibilityfor the realiation of civic needs, providing goods and services to each citien. Doing sorequires the exercise and maintenance of social and political control. It is JohnMart's contention that clientelism underlines the fundamental character of LatinAmerican social and political life. As the moderniing bureaucratic state has developed in LatinAmerica, there has been a concurrent shifting away from clientelistic relationships. Yet in oneform or another, political clientelism still remains central. Clientelism occurs when largenumbers of low-status individuals, such as those in the slums of rural and underdeveloped areas,are protected by a powerful patron who defends their interests in return for deference ormaterial reward. In Colombia the rural patron has become a member of the higher clientelisticsystem as well; he is dependent on a patron who operates at the national level. This enablesurban elites to mobilie low-status clients for such acts as mass demonstrations of politicalloyalty to the regime. Thus, traditional clientelism has been modified through the process ofmoderniation. Part One of The Politics of Clientelismexamines Colombian politics, focusing on the incarnation and traditional forms of clientelism.Part Two explores the policies of Colombian governance, from the administrations of LlerasCamargo through Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala. Part Three discusses the moderniation andrestructuring of Colombia in recent decades under Belisario Betancur, Virgilio Barco, and CesarGaviria. As the moderniing bureaucratic state has unfolded, there has been a similar shift inmany clientelistic relationships. Mart argues that, whether corporate clientelism remains ormore democratic organiation develops, Colombia is unlikely to shed its basic clientelisticimpulses. Reforms will determine whether or not the state can construct a system in which thecitienry affects the course of national politics. The Politics ofClientelism provides a well-developed theory linking regime and governmentalprocess to policy formulation and performance in Colombia. It will be engrossing reading foreconomists, sociologists, political scientists, and other researchers interested in LatinAmerica. John D. Mart is Distinguished Professor of PoliticalScience at Pennsylvania State University. The author of numerous works on Latin Americanpolitics, he has been editor of Studies in Comparative InternationalDevelopment since 1988, and before that editor of the LatinAmerican Research Review.