From Social Network Structures to Political Parties: The Case of Bolivia

• In Event: Comparative Party-Building in Tumultuous Times

Abstract

Why did the MAS-IPSP party in Bolivia succeed in articulating the country’s indigenous bloc and establishing itself as a national party while other indigenous parties failed in similar endeavors? In contrast to scholarship that points to leadership factors to explain variation in party building efforts, this paper argues that the social network structures within which political parties originate significantly shape parties’ likelihood of expansion and consolidation. They do so by regulating the flow of information and resources between voters and parties, constraining parties’ mobilization capacity, and conditioning the strength of the linkages that parties have at their disposal. This paper analyzes original interview data, party documents, and newspapers articles to trace and compare the organizational and network structures of three party building efforts amongst indigenous populations in Bolivia. It demonstrates that while the MAS-IPSP party was the least likely to succeed given the size of its original organizational foundations, it was nonetheless the most likely to succeed in its party building endeavors due to the diverse network landscape within which it originated. Other indigenous parties such as ASP and MIP, on the other hand, while born within important social organizations, were nonetheless embedded in network landscapes that constrained their capacity for expansion. Altogether, the findings reveal often-overlooked variation in the relationship between social organizations and political parties.

Why did the MAS-IPSP party in Bolivia succeed in articulating the country’s indigenous bloc and establishing itself as a national party while other indigenous parties failed in similar endeavors? In contrast to scholarship that points to leadership factors to explain variation in party building efforts, this paper argues that the social network structures within which political parties originate significantly shape parties’ likelihood of expansion and consolidation. They do so by regulating the flow of information and resources between voters and parties, constraining parties’ mobilization capacity, and conditioning the strength of the linkages that parties have at their disposal. This paper analyzes original interview data, party documents, and newspapers articles to trace and compare the organizational and network structures of three party building efforts amongst indigenous populations in Bolivia. It demonstrates that while the MAS-IPSP party was the least likely to succeed given the size of its original organizational foundations, it was nonetheless the most likely to succeed in its party building endeavors due to the diverse network landscape within which it originated. Other indigenous parties such as ASP and MIP, on the other hand, while born within important social organizations, were nonetheless embedded in network landscapes that constrained their capacity for expansion. Altogether, the findings reveal often-overlooked variation in the relationship between social organizations and political parties.

Author

• Mariana Giusti-Rodriguez, Naval Postgraduate School