Dominican party system continuity amid regional transformations: economic policy, clientelism, and migration flows

The definitive version was published in Latin American Politics and Society, 53 (1): 1-32. www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1531-426X%20 Abstract: In the 1980s and 1990s, economic crisis produced ideological convergence in many Latin American party systems. Much scholarship explores how this convergence frequently provoked system change that enabled renewed ideological differentiation, but little research examines instances where convergence has persisted without destabilizing the system. Through comparative historical analysis of Dominican continuity amid regional change, we identify factors that sustain or challenge party systems. Then through analysis of Americas Barometer surveys, we assess the causal mechanisms through which these factors shape public support for the traditional Dominican parties. We demonstrate that maintaining programmatic and clientelist linkages facilitates system continuity. In addition, we argue that the threats political outsiders pose to existing party systems are constrained when people excluded from the system are divided and demobilized. In the Dominican case, Haitian immigration divides the popular sector while Dominicans abroad sustain ties to the parties, with both migration flows facilitating party system continuity. 1 Over the past decade, party politics in Latin America have been characterized b