Combining Alternative Perspectives: Internal Trajectories versus External Influences as Explanations of Latin American Politics in the 1940s

Abstract

This article analyzes Latin American politics in the 1940s with reference to two different explanatory perspectives as they bear on labor politics and regime change. The first focuses on the impact of international historical conjunctures, the second on internal trajectories and a path dependent model of change. The analysis reveals that, although international events left a strong imprint, they did not determine or deflect the unfolding of internal trajectories; indeed, internal dynamics seemed to be a stronger causal factor. However, international factors did help explain the distinctive coloration of the internal patterns, filling in some of the details and helping to account for the timing and intensity of the steps as they unfolded in each country.