Misuse of Executive Power as an Obstacle to Democratic Institutional Reform in Argentina

• Main Author: Brito, Anna C
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2016
• Subjects: Democracy; Argentina; Institutional reform; Intelligence; Judiciary; Media; International Relations
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1366; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2437&context=cmc_theses

This thesis explores three different institutions that underwent proposed reforms during the President of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015): the intelligence sector, the judiciary, and the media. Though the stated purpose of these reforms was to make more democratic institutions that had suffered under the military junta, in reality they were generally unsuccessful. Furthermore these institutions would be further changed under her successor, Mauricio Macri, still with little improvement to democracy. When examining these changes in the context of hyper-presidentialism, it is apparent that the misuse of executive power is a serious impediment to meaningful institutional reform.