Measuring the Degree of Institutionalization of New Political Parties in Argentina. An Analysis of Propuesta Republicana Party

CRISTIAN ALTAVILLA

New Orleans

Encuentro; 2017 Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association; 2017

Southern Political Science Association

Since the return of democracy in 1983, an increasing number of (new) political parties have emerged in the national political arena. This paper takes as a case study the evolution and performance of the newest of these political parties: Propuesta Republicana (PRO). As far, PRO has showing a performance and a degree of institutionalization similar to the most important new political parties created in the last three decades: strong personalization and an organizational expansion to a reduced area of performance (broadly, to a metropolitan areas). New political parties have failed in succeed in two challenges: a process of institutionalization and in expanding their party organization nationwide (ALTAVILLA 2014). Most of them have failed to extend their existence in time, ending reduced to the very minimum, or directly disappearing. However, unlike any of those new parties, PRO has won the presidential office in the last election (November, 2015). Despite its similarities, PRO managed to do what other similar parties could not, making this case a potentially unique case for the analysis. The question that arises is whether party institutionalization had anything to do with this electoral victory ? and if it so, in which degree PRO has institutionalized?