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Populist foreign policy and mobilization in Bolivia
[journal article]
Abstract
The goal of this article is to explore the role of mobilization in the foreign policies of populists in power. To do so, we focus on the main features and changes of Bolivia's foreign Policy under its populist president Evo Morales (2006-2019) with regard to its two most prominent conflictive bilate... view more
The goal of this article is to explore the role of mobilization in the foreign policies of populists in power. To do so, we focus on the main features and changes of Bolivia's foreign Policy under its populist president Evo Morales (2006-2019) with regard to its two most prominent conflictive bilateral relations, with the US and Chile. In both domains, Morales departed from the foreign policy of previous governments. By ending cooperation with the US, the Morales government sought to establish a sovereign counternarcotics policy in line with its core constituency's demands of legalizing coca crops. On the key issue of relations with Chile seeking to negotiate a sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, the Morales government exhibited more continuity initially. However, by referring the stalemated conflict to the International Court of Justice, Morales eventually changed his country's approach to finding a resolution. Tracing Morales' discourse over time reveals an intensification of populist as well as hostile rhetoric in periods of domestic political instability. Thus, our findings support the theoretical expectation of a particularly close link between domestic politics and foreign policy under populists in power. Thereby, populism may lead to a more conflictive foreign policy in some cases. However, neither does populist mobilization over foreign policy matters necessarily drive foreign policy change, nor does it preclude genuine bilateral dialogue.... view less
Keywords
Bolivia; foreign policy; Chile; United States of America; populism; political change; dialogue; political negotiation; policy of confrontation; Latin America
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 9-32
Journal
Política: Revista de Ciencia Política, 60 (2022) 2
Issue topic
Populism and Foreign Policy
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-5338.2022.68519
ISSN
0719-5338
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed