Political Training in Four Generations of Activists in Argentina and Brazil

This paper, which is part of wider research on the transformation of political linkages in Argentina and Brazil, analyzes a specific dimension: political activist training. It seeks to understand how transformations such as weaker partisanship and intense political fluctuation manifest in the way activists have defined and experienced political training. I examine narratives in interviews held between 2007 and 2015 with four generational groups of activists, classified according to the historical period in which they engaged in youth activism. All of them were members of government-supporting organizations during the Kirchner (2003-2015) and Workers’ Party administrations (2003-2016). The issue of activist training is relevant if we consider the paradoxical survival of political and partisan activism in a context of electoral volatility and leaders circumventing parties to establish a direct political bond with citizens. Also, while early political socialization has been given considerable attention in the literature, the issue of internal political training – once people have become members of an organization – has not. The findings show a reconfiguration of what activist training used to convey in the past, as well as impacts and challenges over training brought about by these organizations’ access to government.本文隶属于阿根廷与巴西政治联结转型的整体研究框架，聚焦政治活动家培训这一具体维度展开分析。本文旨在探究党派认同弱化、政治波动剧烈等转型现象，如何体现在活动家对政治培训的定义与感知之中。本研究通过2007至2015年间开展的访谈，对四批以参与青年政治活动的历史时期为划分标准的活动家代际群体进行叙事分析。上述活动家在基什内尔执政时期（2003-2015年）与劳工党（Workers’ Party）执政时期（2003-2016年）期间，均为支持政府的组织成员。若考虑到在选举波动性上升、领导人绕过政党直接与民众建立政治联结的背景下，政治与党派活动仍能悖逆式存续这一现状，则活动家培训议题具备重要研究价值。此外，现有文献已对早期政治社会化议题给予充分关注，但针对个体加入组织后的内部政治培训这一问题，相关研究仍较为匮乏。研究结果显示，政治培训的传统内涵已发生重构，同时这些组织依托执政地位也为培训工作带来了多重影响与挑战。