Demilitarization after Central American Civil Wars

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Williams ◽  
J. Mark Ruhl
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Constant Feature ◽  
Economic Elites ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Military

This chapter considers how the armed forces declined in power throughout Latin America in the early 1990s, but the processes of demilitarization in El Salvador and Guatemala were unique. While demilitarization followed civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala, these are the only two cases in Latin America in which the United Nations played a major role in brokering negotiated settlements to end the armed conflicts and in monitoring peace agreements that set in motion processes of demilitarization. In both countries political opposition to continued military domination, including armed insurgencies, was a constant feature from the 1960s onward. Moreover, economic elites who traditionally looked to the military to protect their business interests increasingly expressed concern about the liability of supporting a large, well-equipped military without a mission.

The Genesis and Internal Dynamics of El Salvador's People's Revolutionary Army, 1970–1976

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (01) ◽  
pp. 102-129
Author(s):  
ALBERTO MARTÍN ÁLVAREZ ◽  
EUDALD CORTINA ORERO
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Internal Coherence ◽  
The 1960S

AbstractUsing interviews with former militants and previously unpublished documents, this article traces the genesis and internal dynamics of the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (People's Revolutionary Army, ERP) in El Salvador during the early years of its existence (1970–6). This period was marked by the inability of the ERP to maintain internal coherence or any consensus on revolutionary strategy, which led to a series of splits and internal fights over control of the organisation. The evidence marshalled in this case study sheds new light on the origins of the armed Salvadorean Left and thus contributes to a wider understanding of the processes of formation and internal dynamics of armed left-wing groups that emerged from the 1960s onwards in Latin America.

Resurgent Democracy and the Guatemalan Military

1986 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Handy
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Reagan Administration ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
American Media ◽  
The Military

During 1984 and 1985 there was much discussion of an apparent ‘resurgence’ of democracy in many countries in Latin America. As the military handed over the reins of government to elected civilian rulers in Honduras, El Salvador and Argentina, and steps toward the same end were taken in Uruguay and Brazil, the American media and the Reagan administration – conveniently forgetting its earlier support for military dictatorship – began to speak glowingly of a new ‘Latin spring’.

Why Tiempo is under attack

1984 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-22
Author(s):  
George Black
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Latin America ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Central America ◽  
North American ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The North ◽  
The Government

‘Those who are not with the government are considered enemies of Honduras, anti-patriots, Communists’ says Tiempo's editor, Manuel Gamero Honduras was until recently an area of calm in the stormy region of Central America. Now, however, its civilian government is hard-pressed by the armed forces who have involved the country in the struggle against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua and the guerrilla fighters in El Salvador. Both Honduras' press and university are coming increasingly under attack, as George Black, a British journalist who is on the staff of the North American Congress on Latin America in New York, here explains.

scholarly journals The Militarization of Law Enforcement: Evidence from Latin America

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo A. Flores-Macías ◽  
Jessica Zarkin
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The United States ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Police Reform ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Military Law ◽  
The Military

What are the political consequences of militarizing law enforcement? Across the world, law enforcement has become increasingly militarized over the last three decades, with civilian police operating more like armed forces and soldiers replacing civilian police in law enforcement tasks. Scholarly, policy, and journalistic attention has mostly focused on the first type, but has neglected the study of three main areas toward which we seek to contribute: 1) the constabularization of the military—i.e., when the armed forces take on the responsibilities of civilian law enforcement agencies, 2) the extent to which this process has taken place outside of the United States, and 3) its political consequences. Toward this end, we unpack the concept of militarized law enforcement, develop theoretical expectations about its political consequences, take stock of militarization in Latin America, and evaluate whether expectations have played out in the region. We show that the distinction between civilian and military law enforcement typical of democratic regimes has been severely blurred in the region. Further, we argue that the constabularization of the military has had important consequences for the quality of democracy in the region by undermining citizen security, human rights, police reform, and the legal order.

The Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross (V)

1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (214) ◽  
pp. 29-34
Author(s):  
Jean Pictet
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
The Military

The principle goes on to state that the Red Cross may not take sides in hostilities. This refers to neutrality in the military domain, and this is indeed the initial understanding of neutrality.The affirmation is an obvious one, but it is nonetheless essential. Some people have found it too laconic, even curt. It is true enough that the expression should apply to all forms of conflict and not only to military operations in the narrow sense. Furthermore, it should cover not only conflicts between nations but also civil wars and internal disorders. It might accordingly be better to say, the Red Cross may not take sides in armed conflicts of any kind.

The Armed Forces in Latin America: Potential for Changes in Political and Social Functions

1972 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Kossok
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
The Military ◽  
Coups D'etat

At the beginning of this study of military dictatorship and the political role of the intellectuals in Latin America, Florestan Fernandes (1970: 1) makes the following statement: “The idea that Latin America is a region in which the coups d'état are a political routine has become a commonplace.” Without doubt, such an opinion is justified and also explains—at least to a certain extent—the wealth of “routine” verdicts on the function of the military in Latin America. A contradiction, however, seems evident at this point: while the number of publications on the political and social position of the armed forces is rapidly increasing (McAlister, 1966; Rouquié, 1969), there is an evident lack of comprehensive analyses that go beyond detailed description, and which explain in a reliable and sound manner the phenomenon of the cyclically increasing militarization of politics. It cannot be overlooked that research on the role of the military in Latin America is in a really critical situation which calls for a reexamination of the facts according to new criteria.

National Security Doctrine in Latin America

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Feierstein
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Latin America ◽  
National Security ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
First Century ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Military ◽  
Large Sections

During the second half of the twentieth century, large sections of the population were exterminated in various parts of Latin America. Most of these events followed a similar pattern and were the result of what became known as the National Security Doctrine. The practice of systematic annihilation of political enemies in Latin America, which began as early as 1954 with the military coup in Guatemala, continued almost until the beginning of the twenty-first century, spreading throughout practically all of Latin America. This article analyses the general characteristics of these developments, their similarities and differences, and the possible connections between civil wars in the region and processes of mass extermination, taking into account that there were no real wars in many of the territories in which these practices were applied. It examines the cases of Guatemala and Argentina.

scholarly journals International Humanitarian Law and Internationalized Internal Armed Conflicts

1982 ◽  
Vol 22 (230) ◽  
pp. 255-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietrich Schindler
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
International War ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Internal Armed Conflicts

Internationalized internal armed conflicts have become a common feature of the past decades. In numerous civil wars foreign armed forces have intervened in favour of one or the other party and thereby attempted to influence the outcome of the conflict. Various causes have led to this development. One of them is the increased interdependence of States, as a consequence of which every civil war will affect other States and, conversely, the attitudes of other States may have an impact on the outcome of the civil war, even without any intervention. Another cause can be found in the world's ideological cleavage which divides nations and results in the overlapping of internal and international conflicts. Among further causes we can mention the existence of military blocs and of regional groupings which have an interest in preventing the overthrow of régimes within the bloc and tend to encourage alterations in other blocs. Another factor to be taken into consideration is the prohibition of the use of force in international relations. Whereas in earlier times States waged open wars in order to increase their power, today, due to the prohibition of the use of force, they rather endeavour to achieve the same result by interfering in the internal affairs of other States. Interference in internal conflicts is often a substitute for an international war. The instability of many contemporary régimes, mainly of the Third World, further favours the internationalization of internal conflicts.

scholarly journals The Genesis and Internal Dynamics of El Salvador's People's Revolutionary Army, 1970–1976

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALBERTO MARTÍN ÁLVAREZ ◽  
EUDALD CORTINA ORERO
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Internal Coherence ◽  
The 1960S

AbstractUsing interviews with former militants and previously unpublished documents, this article traces the genesis and internal dynamics of the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (People's Revolutionary Army, ERP) in El Salvador during the early years of its existence (1970–6). This period was marked by the inability of the ERP to maintain internal coherence or any consensus on revolutionary strategy, which led to a series of splits and internal fights over control of the organisation. The evidence marshalled in this case study sheds new light on the origins of the armed Salvadorean Left and thus contributes to a wider understanding of the processes of formation and internal dynamics of armed left-wing groups that emerged from the 1960s onwards in Latin America.

scholarly journals Models of Modernization and geopolitical changes in Latin America

2016 ◽  
pp. 68-76
Author(s):  
István Szilágy
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
The Past ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Military ◽  
Radical Transformation

In South America in the 1960s and 1970s the contradictions of economic, social and political structures were deepening. In order to surmount the structural crisis the different political forces, tendencies and governments elaborated various strategies. These attempts aiming at reorganizing the society led to undermining the hegemony of ruling governing block and radical transformation of state apparatus. Progressive and regressi-ve forms of military dictatorship and excepcional states of the new militarism appeared on the continent because of the Brazilian military takeover of April, 1964. Formally these state systems were set up by the institutional takeover of the armed forces. The military governments strove for the total reorganization and modernization of the societies in their all - economic, political and ideological - territories. The study aims at analizing the diffe-rent models of modernization during the past sixty years.

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