Book, Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon

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Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chavez Phenomenon
by Steve Ellner

In this fresh look at Venezuelan politics, Steve Ellner emphasizes the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages. Ellner's journey through modern Venezuelan history - observing popular masses and social actors as much as political elites and formal institutions - fundamentally informs his analysis of Hugo Chavez's presidency and the 'Bolivarian Revolution' at its core. Perhaps equally important, as he explores the rise of Chavismo, opposition within the country and abroad, internal tensions in the Chavista movement, and the trajectory of the Chavez government domestically and on the international stage, he sheds new light not only on Venezuela, but also on the recent political turmoil elsewhere in Latin America. This title offers a fresh perspective on Venezuelan politics from the colonial period to the present, emphasizing the central significance of the country's economic and social cleavages.

"A refreshing read on a subject that has involved so much polemic."—George Philip, Bulletin of Latin American Research

"Few scholars ... have the scope and breadth that Ellner exhibits in his rendering of recent Venezuelan political history."—Jeffery R. Webber, Against the Current

"A welcome alternative to the often polemical treatments of Chávez's Venezuela, either for or against."—Jennifer McCoy, Latin American Politics and Society

"Should be regarded as essential reading for all serious students of the Bolivarian process."—Diana Raby, Journal of Latin American Studies

Series: Europa Country Perspectives

Paperback: 257 pages

Publisher: Lynne Rienner Pub; (2009)

ISBN-13:  978-1588266996

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