Military and politics in south and central America: the self-perceptions of the armed forces in Latin America

Abstract

The relations between the Latin American states and their armed forces have been a special one at all times. In this region the military played and still plays a major political role. But the political role of the military has changed several times during the last century. These changes were forced by social movements, new patterns of thought, the USA or the Cuban Revolution. During the years, the military had different self-perceptions, which caused in a lot of interventions and military dictatorships. Today, it seems that democracy is well accepted throughout Latin America, but the military still has possibilities of influence.

Citation

Krönert, T. (2008), "Military and politics in south and central America: the self-perceptions of the armed forces in Latin America", Caforio, G., Kümmel, G. and Purkayastha, B. (Ed.) Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution: Sociological Perspectives (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 283-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1572-8323(08)07015-X