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

		ISBN: 978-1-58826-560-9 $55.00
	2008/257 pages

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 Chávez'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 Chávez 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.

Also of interest: Venezuelan Politics in the Chávez Era: Class, Polarization, and Conflict edited by Steve Ellner and Daniel Hellinger. 

• Foreword—Kenneth Roberts.
• Introduction: Rethinking Venezuelan Politics.
• From the Colonial Period to 1958: A Brief Overview.
• Venezuela's "Model" Democracy, 1958-1989.
• Neoliberal Reforms and Political Crisis, 1989-1999.
• The Four Stages of the Chávez Presidency.
• Conflicting Currents in the Chávez Movement.
• The Chávez Movement's Top-Down and Grassroots Approaches.
• The Chávez Government in the International Arena.
• Conclusion.