ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly highlights some major themes on which Juan Linz has deeply contributed to the analysis of Latin American politics and society. It attempts to shed light on why someone who has not worked primarily on Latin America has had a decisive influence on the study of Latin American politics. In his work on Spain and in his comparative studies, Linz developed a number of themes that resonated deeply among scholars working on Latin America. First was his characterization of authoritarian regimes as a regime type with distinctive characteristics and dynamics, as distinct from democratic and totalitarian regimes. The chapter explains why contemporary Latin American party systems are so diverse in spite of their common point of departure in the nineteenth century. Drawing illustrations from Linz's work, it presents a protocol determining how to set up comparisons without falling into common error-inducing pitfalls.
