Deterioration and Polarization of Party Politics in Venezuela Jana Morgan Associate Professor University of Tennessee Jana.K.Morgan@gmail.com Chapter prepared for inclusion in Party Systems in Latin America: Institutionalization, Decay and Collapse. Scott Mainwaring, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press. Forthcoming. I appreciate comments from Michael Coppedge, Gustavo Flores-Macías, Laura Gamboa, Sam Handlin, Steve Levitsky, Scott Mainwaring, Jim McGuire, David Myers, Iñaki Sagarzazu, and Jason Seawright as well as participants at the Kellogg Institute conference on Party Systems in Latin America: Institutionalization, Decay and Collapse. Funding was provided by Fulbright- Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellowship and the University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Professional Development Award. Any errors are my own.