Ideas for the historiography of politics and the State in Argentina and Chile, 1840-1930

Abstract

The article analyzes the sociologic and historic considerations in the context of building up the national state in Argentina and Chile.  It intends to distinguish among the -at least- three dimensions superimposed in the collisions produced during the process of construction and imposition of state order in Latin America.  Thus, this article makes a methodological and theoretical choice which is the comparative envisage, understanding that this helps to better understand the nature of the respective historic experiences, their common characteristics as well as the original ones.  Two nearby experiences, two different experiences.  Chilean and argentine’s have looked at ourselves and distrusted, but have studied each other scarcely.  Prejudices dominate clearly over other alternatives of perception and knowledge. Though the respective national historiographies have been for long encapsulated, in these last years the fertility -and even more, the need- of  international academic exchanges has been demonstrated.