Einar Berntzen

Democratic consolidation in Central America: A qualitative comparative approach

(1993). Democratic consolidation in Central America: A qualitative comparative approach. Third World Quarterly: Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 589-604.

Plaidoyer for the Restoration of the Concept of Political Culture or Bringing Political Culture Back In

The paper underlines the importance of the concept of political culture by using two so highly different empirical examples as the role of Norwegian voluntary organizations as agents of cultural and social policies and Latin American attitudes towards revolution and democracy. The purpose of the disparity in the choice of examples is precisely to underline methodologically why a historical and typologocal approach is generally necessary in political analysis. The authors argue that sociological causal explanations are inadequate as long as one doesn’t simultaneously consider the influence of both structure (external) and meaning (internal). The authors hope to demonstrate that without such a dual perspective it is possible to end up supporting phenomena which are not only doomed to failure but which even do not merit our support given certain values and interests. * Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Norway. ** Centre for Management and Organizational Studies, University of Bergen, Norway.

Peru and the Fujimori Presidential Breakdown in 2000: Continuismo Gone Bad

The regime that Fujimori established in Peru after his 1992 autogolpe has generally been characterized as an electoral authoritarian regime. Elections serve a dual purpose and have an inbuilt contradiction under electoral authoritarian regimes: on the one hand, they are a source of both internal and external legitimacy; on the other, they threaten incumbents, since they are by nature uncertain and provide an opportunity for political opponents to gain power. Elections therefore create a serious dilemma for authoritarian incumbents: they must choose between allowing fair play at the cost of possible defeat, and violating democratic rules at the cost of generating domestic protest and international repudiation, which may lead to regime crisis.