Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hicks, Barbara

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

The histories of the United States and Argentina provide an opportunity to examine the questions of democratic survival and failure given the divergent outcomes experienced by these countries. A possible explanation is in how these countries’ economic systems affected their political institutions. Both Argentina and the Southern United States developed agricultural systems dominated by elite landed interests. These two cases also saw significant resistance to and backlash against democratization. The Northern United States developed a diverse economic system with an agricultural base consisting of small landowners, democratized more rapidly and did not experience a backlash significant enough to threaten the country’s democratic institutions. The evidence reviewed suggests that economic systems based on large agricultural estates are generally more oligarchic. Conversely, economic systems that are less focused on agriculture or based on smaller farms are more likely to be democratic. Systems that were dominated by oligarchic landed elites also present numerous instances of the political dominance of these elites being used to advance policies that serve their interests over the interests of the country, often to disastrous results. Over time the economic base of Argentina delayed the establishment of democratic institutions and built weaknesses into the economy and political system as the country democratized. Similar weaknesses in the Southern United States were overcome through the military and political dominance of the northern region in nationalizing the more democratic institutions founded on communities of smaller farmers and more diverse economic interests.

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