THE POLITICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF PRIVATIZATION - A TYPOLOGY

In shifting responsibilities from government to market, privatization has the potential to alter the institutional framework through which c itizens normally conceive and pursue their individual and shared inter ests. But the literature has presented it as a relatively apolitical a daptation to changing conditions. Rather than a choice among means to achieve broadly shared goals, privatization often takes the form of a strategy to realign institutions so as to privilege the goals of some groups over the competing aspirations of other groups. Drawing primari ly on the experience of Western, industrialized nations, a political t ypology is developed that distinguishes between privatizations underta ken for different reasons-whether pragmatic, tactical, or systemic.