Beyond the theory of consolidation: problematic dimensions of institutions in new democracies

The article starts from the still valid critique that was made a decade ago by Guillermo O’Donnell to the theories of consolidation. The persistence in several Latin-American countries of the problems observed then suggests that more profound and richer theoretical tools are needed to analyze what has actually happened with the new institutions that were created and that are still being created to make progress with the democratization processes, which have not worked as they were supposed to. Resorting to several tendencies in the theory of institutions, we may observe that change within the institution, as well as conflict and the relation between formal and informal institutions are some of the major problematic dimensions that may help us to understand the above-mentioned processes better.