Read more
Informationen zum Autor Jonathan Hartlyn is professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been a member of several international election observation teams invited to the Dominican Republic, including those led by former president Jimmy Carter in 1990 and 1996. Klappentext Over the past several decades, the Dominican Republic hasexperienced striking political stagnation in spite of dramaticsocioeconomic transformations. In this work, Jonathan Hartlynoffers a new explanation for the country's political evolution,based on a broad comparative perspective. Hartlyn rejects cultural explanations unduly focused onlegacies from the Spanish colonial era and structuralexplanations excessively centered on the lack of nationalautonomy. Instead, he highlights the independent impact ofpolitical and institutional factors and historical legacies,while also considering changes in Dominican society and theinfluence of the United States and other international forces. In particular, Hartlyn examines how the Dominican Republic'stragic nineteenth-century history established a legacy ofneopatrimonialism, a form of rule that found extreme expressionin the brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo and has continued to shapepolitics down to the present. By examining economic policymakingand often conflictual elections, Hartlyn also analyzes the missedopportunity for democracy during the rule of the DominicanRevolutionary Party and the democratic tensions of theadministrations of Joaquin Balaguer. Zusammenfassung Over several decades! the Dominican Republic has experienced striking political stagnation despite dramatic socioeconomic transformations. In this text! the author offers an explanation for the country's political evolution! which considers the influence of the USA and other international forces.
