1. Militaries in South American Politics

2. Military Mission Old Mission: New Mission: To save the patria
War against drugs

3. Why? Creation myth Societal mobility
They are more than part of the nation, they are its creators
Societal mobility
Need for strong government in the face of “continuing danger”
Professional status
Only the military equipped to save la patria from enemies

4. Military in Politics explanations
Professionalism
German military
Contact with other military (USA)
Military response domestically driven
Pride in Public service
No glory
Education of enlisted
Shifts type of political interest only
Class based values
Military values supersede civilian

5. How Much? 1900-2000 167 successful coups 1.6 per year 8.8 per country
Uneven distribution:
Bolivia – 15
Haiti – 14
Costa Rica – 2
Uruguay – 1

6. Change over time? Decline from 1930s to 2000
Coups persisted but incidence declined
US government support changes
Eisenhower to Nixon, supportive
Ford to present, less supportive

7. Four Dimensions of Military Regimes
Power structure based on personalism or collegiality
Military institution assuming and making political decisions with political institutional frameworks
Nature of the ideological orientation
Civilian support

8. Regime variation on the four dimensions
Historic evolution from personalistic regimes without additional political roles for the military (not in other governmental roles).
Contemporary era saw shift to institutionalized approach – long term commitment with ideological focus.
Populist/inclusionary (reformist – Peron, Velasco))
Excusionary authoritarianism (Upper-middle class alliance - Brazil ; Argentina ; Chile )

9. Cold War Impact Intensified military tendencies
Focused efforts to combat subversion
Two compelling outcomes:
La patria “saved” from subversives
Human rights violations

10. Post-Cold War, Amnesty?
Contestation – military policy, mission, size of budget
Prerogatives – internal military affairs, promotion, strategy, deployment
Civilians and military negotiate and compromise on each
Goal to establish civilian control over the military
Curtailing of budgets
Protection of military from post cold-war prosecution
Chile versus Argentina

11. The Future
Domestic political context in South American countries is overall moderate
Left weak, right moderating, international pressure
Militaries accomplished their missions
Saved the patria from subversive attacks
Timing good – 1990s a difficult time to govern
Economic disarray, allow civilian responsibility
Junior officers less interested in politics
Impacts of senior officers were negative
Transition to war against drugs
Provides a mission, gains support domestic and international