Argentinian State Policies (1880-1943): Some Historiographical Debates

Abstract

In this article, some displayed scholarly approaches that intended to comprehend thehistory of the Argentinian State interventions in the last thirty years are presented. Here,some of the methodological strategies and concepts used by different historians to understandand describe policies (health, penitentiary, justice, etc.) between 1880 and 1943are shown. The purpose is to contribute to a more critical perception of a) processesthrough which some issues were identified, b) State agents who contributed to makethose problems visible or to hide them; c) the many differentiated senses and interestsassociated to State interventions. Conclusions show that historians’ focus nowadays isno longer on the State (understood as a relation between classes) nor on the nationalscale, but rather on many State institutions and regional scales.