State continuity, transformismo and neoliberal civil society formation in Chile

The article seeks to explain the ongoing predominance of neoliberal ideas and policy prescriptions in Chile by analyzing the role of civil society actors, namely intellectuals and their research, consulting and advocacy networks. Of particular importance before and during the transition to democracy were the intellectuals and private research institutions of the center-left. They played a crucial role in moderating political attempts and eventually paved the way to a “marketed democracy”. The neoliberal political technocracy, for their part, also started to build up advocacy think tanks. Neoliberal civil society formation proved rather successful in the democratic era. Their intellectual infrastructure enabled the neoliberals to mobilize knowledge, influence the public and even their counterparts. President-elected Sebastian Piñera now relies on cadres who had been educated in the training-grounds of the think tanks.