Taking the multiple streams framework for a walk in Latin America

Abstract

The theoretical development of the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) has been almost nonexistent in Latin America. Hence, the goal of this article is to examine its portability and provide a road map for researchers wanting to apply the framework to this particular policy context. To this end, various characteristic elements of Latin American politics are analyzed along three broad dimensions—delegative democracies, weak and dependent states, and social inequalities—and then discussed in relation to the core elements of the framework. Although the MSF appears to be capable of capturing the different dynamics at play, there are a number of crucial features that may prove to be a challenge for the framework and could arguably merit its modification for a more efficient application in the region. First, we suggest that its political stream could be modified, as it needs to acknowledge political contexts in which legislatures and political parties are weak, whereas powerful interest groups can exert a very strong influence over executives that dominate policymaking. Furthermore, we discuss if the MSF is able to decode the informal institutions based on corruption, which by now have turned into a constant in most political systems of the region and include illegal efforts by politicians and interest groups to influence how policies are formed.