Problems in the study of democratization in Latin America -: Regime analysis vs cultural studies

This article is a comparative review of two mutually exclusive approaches to the study of democratization in Latin America, i.e. regime analysis and cultural studies, showing that they make important contributions to the understanding of elite behavior during institutional changes (regime analysis) and to the evaluation of cultural changes in society (cultural studies). They also converge around central problems of democratization, such as clientelism, but fail to present a comprehensive interpretation of political, social and personal changes. A broader perspective is required, both from a comparative and a universalist standpoint, in order to overcome these problems.