Telephone number:	+31 (0)71 527 2789
E-Mail:	c.jara.ibarra@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Faculty / Department:	Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Institute for History, Latijns-Amerika studies
Office Address:	Johan Huizingagebouw Doelensteeg 16 2311 VL Leiden Room number 1.71b

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Fields of interest

Relations and conflicts between the state, the market and the civil society in Latin America
Mechanisms of participation, goals and the role of citizens in the democratization processes in Latin America
Public policies which affect the civil society's involvement both in Chile and the rest of Latin America

Research

Democratic Governability, Neo-liberal Modernization and Civil Society in Chile, 1990-2010

My doctoral research focuses on the impact of both neo-liberal modernization and the pursuit of the governability paradigm by the Concertación governments, in reducing the degree of activation and participation in public affairs of the Chilean civil society.
After the conclusion of the Pinochet regime, the four centre-leftist Concertación administrations (1990-2010) acknowledged the important role played by civil society in consolidating democracy in the country. This resulted in the deployment of a series of public policies aiming at the strengthening and promotion of civil society’s organizations. Notwithstanding, during this period the levels of participation in traditional organizations decreased and civil society’s representatives had little or no impact on the national agenda. In their efforts to guarantee democratic governability, the Concertación governments applied a top-down and technocratic modus operandi in which little room was left for social and political forces not formally represented at the parliament. In addition, the fast expansion of mass consumption produced by the market oriented policies in this period seems also to have resulted in a generalized demobilization of Chilean citizens; they began to search in the marketplace and not at the political arena for the solutions for their economic needs and the satisfaction of their social aspirations.

Curriculum vitae

I am originally from Chile where I obtained a bachelor degree in Sociology in 2007 from the Catholic University Silva Henríquez. In 2008, I followed the Diploma programme ‘Organizational Strengthen, Civil Society and Cooperation’ at the University of Chile.
After working as a Researcher in Chile, I decided to strengthen my researching and methodological skills. For this purpose I followed in 2010 the MSc programme ‘Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences’ at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.
In early 2011 I was awarded with a grant from CONICYT (Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research) to conduct a four year doctoral research at the Institute of History – Department of Latin American Studies at Leiden University.