Table Of Contenti
“Has the political role of the military endured or re-e merged in Latin
America since the new millennium? This is the central question of this
book, a fundamental and timely contribution to understand the current
state of civil-m ilitary relations in the region. It offers analytical depth,
comparative focus, and empirical diversity. A must read.”
Helena Carreiras, Former President of the European Research
Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS) 2017–2019
and at present Minister of National Defence of Portugal
“In this insightful book, nineteen senior analysts of civil- military relations
combine rigorous scholarship with local expertise to demonstrate the new
political roles assumed by Latin American militaries during the 2000s,
from the old political militarism of the Cold War decades to renewed civil-
military politics. This book should be a required read for practitioners and
scholars interested in Latin American politics and militarism.”
Yagil Levy, Professor of Political Sociology at The Open
University of Israel and Vice- President of the
Israeli Sociological Society (ISS)
“In this outstanding volume Kruijt and Koonings have managed to pro-
vide a solid and genuinely comparative analysis of the Latin American
military in domestic politics and governance during the last two decades.
They convincingly demonstrate that the Latin American armies have been
able to retain their importance in national imaginaries and their role as a
semi- autonomous political actor in many countries of the region.”
Patricio Silva, Professor of Modern Latin
American History, Leiden University
“In times of great uncertainties, this book explores with deep insight the
civic- military politics in Latin America, offering different analysis of the
military role in the region. Democratic governments must provide access
to essential public goods where security is a central priority, together with
safeguarding human rights, political dialogue, and inclusive participation.”
Josette Altmann- Borbón, Secretary- General of
the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias
Sociales (FLACSO)
“Where are the Latin American military today and what are they up
to? This question is as important as it is absent from the contemporary
political and academic debate. This book is necessary because it fills an
analytical gap and because it insightfully dissects the various strategies
developed by the Latin American armed forces to preserve a relevant role
in the (post?- )democratic political arena. With its exceptional line- up of
authors, the work identifies a fourfold dynamics that mark the military in
ii
different countries: returning to the barracks, playing a latent yet central
role, engaging in low- intensity violent confrontations, and sustaining pol-
itical regimes.”
Salvador Martí i Puig, Professor of Political Sciences at the
University of Girona and researcher in CIDOB- Barcelona
“Illuminating how Latin American militaries have adapted to a new twenty-
first century reality, this ambitious collection by renowned specialists
shows how the region’s armed forces, rather than retiring to their barracks,
have in fact found multiple and diverse ways to influence politics under
democratic— and not- so- democratic— regimes.”
Lilian Bobea, Assistant Professor at Fitchburg State
University, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and former
co- chair of Latin American Studies Association
section ‘Defense, Public Security and Democracy’
“This book is a welcome contribution to the field of civil-m ilitary relations
that captures the diverse relations between the armed forces and society in
Latin American countries. The richness lies in the diversity of the chapters,
that capture the underlying power dynamics that problematize the influ-
ence of the military in politics, the economy, and broader civil society
within the unique context of each country.”
Lindy Heinecken, Vice- Dean— Research, Faculty of
Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University
iii
Latin American Military and Politics
in the Twenty- First Century
This volume offers a comparative analysis of the role of the military in
Latin America in domestic politics and governance after 2000.
Divided into four parts covering the entirety of Latin America, the
book argues that the Latin American military as semiautonomous polit-
ical actors have not faded away since 2000 and may even have been making
a comeback in various countries. Each part outlines scenarios which effect-
ively frame the various pathways taken to post-m ilitary democratic society.
Part 1 critically examines textbook cases of political demilitarization in the
Southern Cone, Peru, and Costa Rica. Part 2 contrasts the role of the mili-
tary in the post- 2000 politics of two regional powers: Brazil and Mexico.
Part 3 examines the political role of the military facing ‘violent pluralism’
in Colombia and the northern triangle of Central America. Finally, Part 4
identifies country cases in which the military have been instrumental in the
rise, sustenance, and occasional demise of left-w ing revolutionary projects
within Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia.
Latin American Military and Politics in the Twenty- First Century will
be of interest to scholars, students, and professionals in the fields of Latin
American history, international relations, military studies, and studies
concerning democracy, political violence, and revolution in Latin America
elsewhere.
Dirk Kruijt is Professor Emeritus of Development Studies at Utrecht
University, and currently is a research fellow at the Centre for Military
Studies (CEMIS) at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and at the
Centro de Estudios Internacionais (CEI) at the Instituto Universitário de
Lisboa (ISCTE- IUL). He has published about military governments and
revolutions; insurgency and counterinsurgency; and urban violence and
non- state armed actors. His two most recent publications are Ethnography
as Risky Business: Field Research in Violent and Sensitive Contexts
(2019, Kees Koonings, Dirk Kruijt, and Dennis Rodgers, eds.), Defence
Diplomacy and National Security Strategy: Views from the Global South
(2020, Liebenberg, Kruijt and Paranjpe, eds.) and Latin American Guerrilla
Movements: Origins, Evolution, Outcomes (2020, Dirk Kruijt, Eduardo Rey
Tristán, and Alberto Martín Álvarez, eds.).
iv
Kees Koonings is Professor of Anthropology of Development and Conflict
in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Utrecht University and
Professor of Brazilian Studies at the Centre for Latin American Research
and Documentation (CEDLA), University of Amsterdam. His research
interests are urban development, citizenship, and social exclusion in Latin
American cities, conflict and violence in Brazil, Colombia, and Central
America. Two of his recent publications are Brazil Under the Workers’ Party
(2014, Fabio de Castro, Kees Koonings, and Marianne Wiesebron, eds.)
and Ethnography as Risky Business: Field Research in Violent and Sensitive
Contexts (2019, Kees Koonings, Dirk Kruijt, and Dennis Rodgers, eds.).
v
Routledge Studies in Latin American Politics
32 Peace and Rural Development in Colombia
The Window for Distributive Change in Negotiated Transitions
Andrés García Trujillo
33 Anti- Neoliberal Populisms in Comparative Perspective
A Latinamericanisation of Southern Europe?
Enrico Padoan
34 Presidential Power in Latin America
Examining the Cases of Argentina and Chile
Dan Berbecel
35 Deep Integration in Latin American Trade Agreements
Ninfa M. Fuentes- Sosa
36 Latin American Relations with the Middle East
Foreign Policy in Times of Crisis
Marta Tawil- Kuri and Élodie Brun
37 Regional and International Cooperation in South America After COVID
Challenges and Opportunities for the Post- pandemic
Melisa Deciancio and Cintia Quiliconi
38 Latin American Military and Politics in the Twenty- First Century
A Cross- National Analysis
Dirk Kruijt and Kees Koonings
www.routledge.com/ Routledge- Studies- in- Latin- American- Politics/ book-
series/ RSLAP
vi
vii
Latin American Military and
Politics in the Twenty- First
Century
A Cross- National Analysis
Edited by
Dirk Kruijt and Kees Koonings
viii
Cover image: Mono
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Dirk Kruijt and Kees Koonings;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Dirk Kruijt and Kees Koonings to be identified as the authors
of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 75778- 6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 75949- 0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 16478- 4 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/ 9781003164784
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Newgen Publishing UK
ix
Contents
List of Contributors xii
Preface and Acknowledgements xix
List of Abbreviations xxi
1 Introduction: The Latin American Military and
Politics in the Twenty- First Century 1
KEES KOONINGS AND DIRK KRUIJT
PART 1
Back to the Barracks? 19
2 Peru— The Armed Forces in Search of a Place in the
World 21
MARTÍN TANAKA
3 Chile— A Democracy with Semi- autonomous Armed
Forces: A History of Civil– Military Relations Since 1990 35
JAIME BAEZA FREER AND FRANCISCO ROJAS ARAVENA
4 Uruguay— The Military and Politics in the Twenty- First
Century: The Chronicle of a Conflictive Relationship 50
CONSTANZA MOREIRA
5 Argentina— The Reinvention of the Armed Forces
in the Face of the Challenge of Demilitarising the
Nation- State 64
SABINA FREDERIC
6 Costa Rica— The Demilitarisation of Politics:
An Exceptional Story 76
LUIS GUILLERMO SOLÍS
