By Brian Barry
"Rationalist theories of political habit have lately risen in prestige to that of a new—or, extra thoroughly, rediscovered—paradigm within the systematic learn of politics. Brian Barry's brief, provocative ebook performed no small half within the debate that prompted this shift. . . . with no reservation, Barry's treatise is the main lucid and such a lot influential critique of 2 vital, competing views in political research: the 'sociological' college of Talcott Parsons, Gabriel Almond, and different so-called functionalists; and the 'economic' tuition of Anthony Downs and Mancur Olson, between others."—Dennis J. Encarnation, American magazine of Sociology
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Extra resources for Sociologists, Economists, and Democracy (Midway Reprint)
Sample text
6 Despite a series of reforms in recent years that have allowed opposition parties increasing success in congressional elections, Mexico still falls short of providing a fair competitive electoral arena. And throughout most of the term limits era in Mexico, elections have been thoroughly dominated by the Partido Revolucionario Institutional (PRI), partly because of the party's popular support, but also through a combination of patronage, rule manipulation, and outright fraud (Craig and Cornelius 1995).
But the general structural conditions of the two countries, measured by conventional indicators, are strikingly similar. A central theoretical premise of this work is that given the strong similarities between Costa Rican and Venezuelan politics, differences between career patterns and the behavior of legislators in the two countries can be explained by the existence of term limits in Costa Rica and their absence in Venezuela. Chapters 3-5 elaborate these differences and present explicit arguments as to how term limits can account for them.
For example, if a state prohibits service in the state House for any person who has served 6 of the preceding 12 years, and if a representative has served the last 6 consecutive years, then this amounts to a 6-year break in service requirement. If the representative's prior service was not consecutive, however, the required break may be shorter. 2 show the abundant variations in term limit provisions, both among the states and between limits on state versus federal legislators. S. senators are generally afforded the longest periods, due to their 6-year terms.
