Part I: Modes of Oligarchic Rule in Latin America.- Chapter 1: Oligarchic Rule in the Americas, South to North.- Chapter 2: Oligarchy and the Patrimonial State.- Chapter 3: Modes of Oligarchic Rule in Latin America.- Part II: Modes of Oligarchic Rule in the United States.- Chapter 4: First Mode - The Federal Patrimonial State.- Chapter 5: Second Mode - Oligarchic Alliance and Party Politics.- Chapter 6: Third Mode - Oligarchy Transformed, the Republic Reduced.- Part III: Comparing Oligarchic Rule, South and North.- Chapter 7: Polity in the Americas.

This book explores the continuity of oligarchic rule in the Americas of the modern period, with a focus on the variable compatibility of oligarchic rule and democratic government. This focus sets the terms for a comparative inquiry that creates a novel perspective on the politics of Latin America and the United States alike. The continuity depends on the formation of a patrimonial State and a porous division between oligarchic interests and the public sphere of democratic politics; but it also depends on a capacity to adapt and change, and these changes are marked by successive and distinctive modes of rule in both Latin America and the United States. The book concludes with a description and comparison of the sequences and political characteristics of these modes of rule and discovers a recent and remarkable convergence of oligarchic rule in the Americas.Joe Foweraker is Emeritus Fellow at St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford,and Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter, UK.

“Oligarchy in the Americas provides some of the pieces necessary for making these distinctions and accomplishes this while also drawing enlightening conclusions with a unique comparison between Argentina and the US. Whether and how political exclusion works has been and will continue to be the source of great contention. Case studies like this make a good read and track the path dependent elements of the exclusions to come.” (Louis E. Esparza, Fulbright Chronicles, Vol. 1 (4), 2023)

“This is an engaging and thoughtful book that addresses the most central issues in the study of contemporary politics and offers a new interpretation of the politics of the Americas that highlights the persistence of oligarchic power and patrimonialism. Joe Foweraker draws on his considerable knowledge of the Americas and his capacity for elaborating big ideas to push our thinking forward. There is no book quite like this in terms of topic and scope.” (Gerardo L. Munck, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Southern California, USA)“This book offers a bold and compelling effort to compare the politics of Latin America and the United States within a single theoretical framework, effectively challenging the claim to American exceptionalism and the superiority of its democracy. Foweraker draws evidence from major works on political development, past and present, to deliver a lucid interpretation of what ails democracy in the Americas, both North and South. His diagnosis demonstrates the power of his explanatory framework.” (Evelyne Huber, Morehead Alumni Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina, USA)“Is the USA developing into an exclusionary oligarchy resembling the longstanding pattern prevalent in Latin America? In this brilliantly iconoclastic book, Joe Foweraker provides convincing evidence that in the USA the tensions between the inclusivity that comes from democratic control and the exclusivity that is the hallmark of oligarchy have been moving inexorably in favour of the latter. As in Latin America, US democracy is often little more than a veneer overlaying exploitative oligarchic power.” (David McKay, Emeritus Professor of American Government, University of Essex, UK)

Interdisciplinary appeal to scholars in comparative politics, areas studies, American politics, Latin American politics, and political theory Offers a unique interpretation of Latin American and US politics that highlights the persistent role of concentrated economic power and patrimonialism Considers the continuity of oligarchic rule and its compatibility with democratic government