Ideas and the (de) concentration of power in Latin America: an incipient research agenda

LAS IDEAS Y LA (DES)CONCENTRACIÓN DE PODER EN AMÉRICA LATINA UNA AGENDA DE INVESTIGACIÓN EN CIERNES

Why has concentration of power persisted when (re)designing forms of government, in the face of the institutional changes that have taken place in Latin America (LA)? The usual scenario involves the activation of institutional mechanisms such as extraordinary powers, rule by decree, or the outright emergence of new constitutions, which are formulas that have a common denominator: concentration of power in the hands of the executive. This article investigates this institutional trajectory and the logics of change in LA through the role played by political ideas. It fits into political science from a neo-institutionalist perspective, paying special attention to the role of political ideas as an explanatory variable for the understanding of changes and institutional trajectory.