Términos políticos fundamentales. Argentina, 1880–1930

Edited by Natacha Bacolla, Laura Cucchi and Francisco Reyes. Buenos Aires: Katz, 2026.

The volume examines seventeen fundamental political terms that structured Argentine public life between 1880 and 1930. Through a reconstruction of the historical semantics of political language, it reveals how concepts such as citizenship, republic, oligarchy, democracy, federalism and progress became contested tools for defining political inclusion, legitimising authority and shaping competing projects of state-building.

The publication examines seventeen fundamental political terms that structured Argentine public life between 1880 and 1930, a period marked by rapid social and economic transformation and the consolidation of the national state.

Through a careful reconstruction of the historical semantics of political language, the contributors challenge the traditional view of these decades as a static “golden age”, instead revealing a dynamic arena of conceptual change and ideological contestation. Key terms such as citizenship, republic, oligarchy, democracy, federalism and progress were not fixed categories, but flexible and contested tools mobilised by diverse actors to define the boundaries of political inclusion, legitimise authority and shape competing projects of state-building.

By restoring historical depth to this political vocabulary, the book highlights both the contingency of its meanings and its enduring importance for Argentina’s political cultures. It offers a semantic map connecting historical disputes over the language of politics with the continuing complexities of democratic life in Argentina.

Contributors and entries
Ana L. Romero — crisis
Natacha Bacolla — reforma/reformismo
Beatriz Bragoni — federalismo
Darío Roldán — democracia
Eduardo Zimmermann — liberalismo
Francisco J. Reyes — regeneracionismo
Hilda Sabato — república
Inés Rojkind — opinión pública
Jimena Caravaca — estado
Juan Buonuome and Nicolás Sillitti — pueblo
Laura Cucchi — orden
Leonardo D. Hirsch — partidos políticos
María Inés Tato — nación/nacionalismo
Marianne González Alemán — revolución
Martín O. Castro — oligarquía
Roy Hora — progreso
Silvana A. Palermo — ciudadanía