ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I define clientelism before providing a general overview of the historical context of clientelism in Argentina. I then present an example of patronage politics in ancient Rome as evidence of clientelism’s resiliency, pointing to its enduring relevance as a mechanism that relies on dyadic and mutually beneficial relationships – both emotional and instrumental – to solve people’s problems. The following section focuses on the importance of ethnographic approaches to the study of clientelism by looking at different understandings and evaluations of gift-giving and patronage politics that emerge from a variety of cultural contexts in different geographical locations. Relying on a cross-cultural analysis of differences and similarities, the comparative perspective adopted here, which includes a discussion of instrumental and emotional friendships, helps to identify the contextually situated ways in which people think about and experience clientelism in Argentina. Turning my attention to the Argentinian case, I then look at the mechanisms through which patron-client relationships in football are established and maintained. As my conversations with research participants reveal, these relationships contribute to the role of football clubs as environments where quid pro quo agreements between club officials, barras, politicians, and the police take root.
