The civic culture trap revisited

The persistence of analytical limits in the field of political culture

Abstract

This article aims to discuss and synthesize the persistence of theoretical and epistemological pitfalls in the political culture approach for Latin America and to indicate theoretical alternatives. Since the foundation of the field of political culture, little progress has been made to incorporate contributions and evidence not centered in the Global North. Studies on Latin America indicate that the main theories of political culture still lack the generalizability to explain societies where liberal democracy is not consolidated and where the majority of the population does not have adequate living conditions. Thus, this article addresses three theoretical-epistemological gaps with a focus on the Latin American: the trap in the theory of civic culture; the limits in the revisited theory of modernization; and the inadequacy of the explanation of cultural backlash in the Latin American context. We discuss relevant limitations and alternatives for explaining political culture in Latin America and for refining the field of political culture.