This book explores the impact of economic crises and free-market reforms on party systems and political representation in contemporary Latin America. It explains why some patterns of market reform align and stabilize party systems, whereas other patterns of reform leave party systems vulnerable to widespread social protest and electoral instability. In contrast to other works on the topic, this book accounts for both the institutionalization and the breakdown of party systems, and it explains why Latin America turned to the Left politically in the aftermath of the market-reform process. Ultimately, it explains why this 'left turn' was more radical in some countries than others and why it had such varied effects on national party systems.

Winner, 2016 Best Book Award, Comparative Democratization Section, American Political Science Association

'Kenneth M. Roberts’s book provides an outstanding synthetic argument about the impact of the convulsive period of market liberalization on party systems in Latin America, providing a nuanced answer to the question of why this critical juncture generated distinct legacies in some countries and not others. Its perspective will be central to scholarly debates regarding the causes and consequences of the vast changes in patterns of political representation evident in the region today.'

Jonathan Hartlyn - Kenneth J. Reckford Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

'This theoretical and empirical tour de force uses the study of party system change to provide 'a lens through which to view the broader realignment of social, economic, and political fields during Latin America’s turbulent transition to market globalization'. Roberts largely meets these lofty aspirations in a compelling, comprehensive account of party system change in the region.'

Ryan E. Carlin Source: Latin American Research Review