Strengthening democracy: Stakeholder institutions, public policy and democratic quality. The case of Chile, 1990--1998

This dissertation seeks to contribute to the understanding of democratic "quality"---with particular reference to "Third Wave" democracies---by suggesting an evaluative and methodological tool: an examination of "stakeholder" institutions, which are understood to be institutionalized mechanisms for meaningful political participation. Beginning with the notion that political institutions make a difference in how politics is conducted, the thesis argues that "second tier" stakeholdership institutions---that is, institutions beyond voting and political party rules, such as public hearings, the formal inclusion of encompassing organizations in government decision-making, or public interest law---are extremely important in the deepening of democracy and the attainment of high-quality democracy. The thesis then uses stakeholdership as a foundation to build four models of democracy (hyper-presidential, "cupular", neo-corporatist, and pluralist) each of which vary in terms of stakeholdership and, therefore, in terms of democratic quality. After exploring these themes in the first three chapters, the thesis examines the case of post-authoritarian Chile. By looking at tax reform and judicial reform in Chile since 1990, the thesis analyses political bargaining, modes of inclusion and political institutions to determine the quality of Chilean democracy. The thesis concludes that of the four models articulated earlier, "cupular" democracy best captures the reality of Chile since 1990. Since cupular democracy has very low levels of stakeholdership, the thesis suggests that this is worrisome and makes some tentative recommendations for democratizers, both in Chile and in other relevant contexts.