Work

Transitions to captured democracy: The 1998 Costa Rican election as a critical juncture

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: While Costa Rica has retained democratic stability, it has transitioned from high-turnout bipartidism to lower participation within a multi-party system. This paper analyzes the transformative 1994-1998 legislature, its antecedents, and its consequences. It, therefore, explores a political watershed where electoral participation falls dramatically under a stable party system with no authoritarian transition, labelled here as captured democracy. Methodologically, this work performed qualitative coding of media sources to trace how focusing events changed the national political context. Finally, it shows how the simultaneous weakening of the main parties Unidad and Liberación, a bipartisan pact, and several corruption scandals transformed Costa Rican democracy.

Source: European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies | Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe

DOI: 10.32992/10913

Author: Alberto Lioy

Institution: University of Hradec Králové

Language: English

Topic: Political Dynamics in Latin America

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: University of Oregon