Abstract

ILLMER, Patrick. An ‘integral’ approach to the Guatemalan state form: deconstructing the hegemonic continuity of elites. Espiral (Guadalaj.) [online]. 2022, vol.29, n.85, pp.83-117.  Epub Oct 31, 2022. ISSN 1665-0565.

This article analyzes the dominance of elites, retaking the empirical case of Guatemala and contributes of the literature that seeks to explain the resilience of exclusionary state orders. The research is based on the theoretical-methodological contributions of René Zabaleta and the Gramscian perspective of the Integral State with the aim of understand the hegemony of the elites in three analytical dimensions: a) the defense of privileges based on instrumental control over the main processes and institutional mechanisms; b) the efforts to the subordinately and selectively integrate fragments of civil society into their projects; c) the disposition to resort to violent state and para-state mechanisms to counteract the antagonistic expressions of civil society. It is argued that the combination -with a changing weight- of these three strategies protected by a political culture that updates notions of social differentiation and privilege, lets decrypt with detail the Guatemalan hegemonic configuration.

Keywords : hegemony; State-society equations; Guatemala; elites; comprehensive State.

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