Electoral Dynamics in Peru´s Partyless Democracy

• In Event: Party System Change in Latin America

Abstract

This work shows that party non-systems operating under democratic
conditions exhibit electoral dynamics that differ in important respects from the
electoral dynamics that obtain in bona fide party systems endowed with systemic
parties. It illustrates these particular dynamics of party non-systems by examining
the paradigmatic case of post-Fujimori Peru. The article outlines four important
dynamics undergirding electoral politics in these party universes at one end of the
institutionalization continuum: the absence of inter-temporal programmatic
structuration; personalism as the dominant party-voter linkage type; the primacy of
effective party supply over party demand in shaping electoral outcomes; and finally,
the importance of political agency and strategic voting. Acknowledging that these
are central features of party non-systems enhances the understanding of electoral
processes and outcomes in democracies without bona fide political parties—and avoids
common misinterpretations.

Author

• Omar Sanchez, Texas State University