Book Review: Citizenship and Disadvantaged Groups in Chile
| DOI | 10.1177/0964663919898871 |
| Published date | 01 October 2020 |
| Author | Viviana Ponce de León Solís |
| Date | 01 October 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
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The book is on the whole very well-written, with excellent signposting throughout,
and clear progression from one argument to the next. At the beginning of (almost) every
chapter, Margalit provides an outline of its focus and how it fits in with the rest of the
book, and at the end, he summarises the chapter succinctly and alludes to the following
chapter. The only exception is Chapter 5, where Margalit refutes the objections to
DLPBA presented in Chapter 3, which does not fit within this clear and structured
framework. Following Chapter 4, the chapter wherein he presents the reconciliation of
DLPBA with other models of establishing legal parenthood, he launches right into his
counterarguments, without any introduction or conclusion.
On the whole, in this book, Margalit presents an alternative model to the current
framework for determining parenthood, one that takes into account the parties’ inten-
tions, in line with the overall shift in favour of individual autonomy and the privatisation
of the family. The different case studies presented provide an opportunity to explore the
ways in which ART has transformed the family and the resultant legal dilemmas. By
presenting – then refuting – the objections to DLPBA, Margalit posits a strong alterna-
tive normative framework that promotes individual autonomy and the best interests of
the child simultaneously. His approach allows the reader to question the traditional
dichotomy drawn between family and market, as well as how parenthood is understood.
Future research could build on this model, looking to the lived experiences of those in
non-traditional families, where parenthood is determined by agreement, thereby allow-
ing for an exploration of how family – and parenthood – is understood.
ZAINA MAHMOUD
University of Exeter, UK
ORCID iD
Zaina Mahmoud
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3669-9610
PABLO MARSHALL (ed.), Citizenship and Disadvantaged Groups in Chile. Lanham: Lexington Books,
2018, pp. 221, ISBN 978-1-4985-6316 -1, $95 (hbk).
Citizenship and Disadvantaged Groups in Chile embarks on a considerably ambitious
and original task. It explores the long-lasting impact of General Augusto Pinochet’s
neoliberal project on vulnerable groups, from the rhetorical stance of substantive citizen-
ship.1 To that effect, the book assembles 11 contributions from Chilean scholars in fields
ranging from law to the social sciences that ‘stud[y] the challenges, developments, and
perspectives that various disadvantaged groups face in terms of their citizenship in Chile,
adopting a heterogeneous array of theoretical premises and methodological perspectives’
(p. 1). Each contribution delivers a rigorous account of the historical or structural sources
of vulnerability for different groups and the unique set of difficulties they face. This
particular combination of frameworks and viewpoints offers undoubtedly valuable and
comprehensive insight into social inequality and group vulnerability in Chile.
The book contends that
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Social & Legal Studies 29(5)
[a]s a result of the existing constitutional constraints and the consensual political culture
[ . . . ], the almost three decades of civilian rule since 1990 have witnessed very slow
progress in fields related to political democratization and social...
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