The politics of clientelism : democracy and the state in Colombia /

This book attests the remarkable vigor of one of the grand old men of Latin American politics. It could well have the same title as Martz's first book about Colombia, Colombia: A Contemporary Political Survey (1962), and its comprehensive bibliography and detailed footnotes show Martz continues to do his homework. The first three chapters offer a useful summary of the literature on clientelism as it relates to the history of Colombia. Chapters 4-11 consist of surveys of individual presidencies, from Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1958-62) through Virgilio Barco (1986-90). The concluding 12th chapter contains several pages on the administration of the current president, Ernesto Samper. Each chapter has the following sections: "The National Environment" (population, demographic shifts), "Policies of the Administration," "Social and Political Controls," "Party Competition," "Candidate Selection," and "Campaign and Election." Not an integrated, theoretical work like Jonathan Hartlyn's Politics of Coalition Rule in Colombia (CH, Apr'89), Martz's book advances no new theory to apply to Colombian politics. Nevertheless, in relating what has happened at the national level in Colombian politics, Martz has done all readers, undergraduates through faculty, a considerable favor. R. E. Hartwig Texas A&M University-Kingsville