Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism in Chile

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Guillermo O’Donnell’s definition of a bureaucratic-authoritarian government involves the transformation of a political government through the changes in industrialization and the social hierarchy. Bureaucratic-Authoritarian governments, according to O’Donnell’s definition, are “excluding and emphatically non-democratic” (Collier 24). The case of Chile emphasizes the exclusion O’Donnell speaks of, most importantly after democratic processes in Chile came to a halt during Pinochet’s reign. The implementation of a bureaucratic-authoritarian government in Chile led to a positive in change in the country’s economy while sacrificing political involvement. To understand the origins of Chile’s bureaucratic-authoritarian government, focus should be placed on how it formed, its unique characteristics, and what eventually led to the downfall and replacement of the government. Each aspect looks at vital components of implementing a bureaucratic-authoritarian and allows for an in-depth understanding of Chilean regimes.

O’Donnell states “technocrats have a low level of tolerance for…popular sector politicization” which precedes the change in government from populist rule to bureaucratic-authoritarian rule (Collier 27). Within Chile, Augusto Pinochet organized a military coup to overthrow the government ran by Allende, which began the process of his military rule for almost two decades. Before a government can become completely under bureaucratic-authoritarian rule, it must go through political and economic changes as outlined by O’Donnell. Before Pinochet assumed power, Chile continued struggled with the concept of Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) with a steady decline in import growth from 90% in 1870 to 55% in 1907 (Ma 56). ISI ...

... middle of paper ...

...urse, and dismantling of a bureaucratic-authoritarian government. O’Donnell’s description of authoritarian regimes allows for a top down explanation of the intricacies involved with the cycle many governments in Latin America have followed. In the case of Chile, the bureaucratic-authoritarian model reveals what positive and negative products can come from authoritarian rule, a regime in which many associate with solely with relentless brutality and criminal interworking.

Works Cited

Collier, David. 1979. “Overview of the Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Model,” in David Collier (ed.) The New Authoritarianism in Latin America. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Ma, Shu-Yun. “The Rise and Fall of Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism in Chile.” Studies in Comparative International Development. 34.3 (1999): 51-65. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.

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