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Recent Research and Writings on the Role of the Military in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2022

L. N. McAlister
L. N. McAlister*
Affiliation:
University of Florida
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As recently as 1960, edwin lieuwen observed that “on the general subject of militarism in Latin America no important books have yet appeared,” (Arms and Politics in Latin America, N.Y., 1960:279) a judgment that has never been seriously disputed. This is not to say that before that year the political role of the Latin American armed forces went unnoticed by historians and social scientists. On the contrary both the scholarly and popular literature dealing with the area abounds with references to militarism. From a scholarly point of view, however, the bulk of this production is unsatisfying.

Type
Topical Review
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , Fall 1966 , pp. 5 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © 1966 by the University of Texas Press

References

Notes

1. In John J. Johnson, ed. The Role of the Military in Underdeveloped Countries (Princeton, 1962), pp. 69–89.

2. See the observations of Theodore Wyckoff, “The Role of the Military in Latin American Politics,” Western Political Quarterly, XIII (Sept. 1960), 748, n. 4.

3. I wish to thank Robert Potash and Irving Horowitz for their suggestions. The responsibility for selection, however, is mine.

4. Generals vs. Presidents, p. 104.

5. Arms and Politics (Rev. ed., N.Y., 1961), pp. 186–87.

6. Pp. 230–31.

7. P. 231.

8. Generals vs. Presidents, p. 117.

9. The different views of the two authors are highlighted in their remarks in United States Military Academy, “The West Point Conference on Latin American Problems, 15–17 April 1964,” pp. 56–71 and particularly p. 68.

10. The Military and Society, p. viii.

11. P. 89.

12. P. 255.

13. P. viii.

14. P. 262.

15. P. 258.

16. P. 105.

17. P. 152.

18. P. 250.

19. P. viii.

20. The substance of this volume originally appeared in a series of articles appearing in Combate, I, nos. 1 (July–August, 1958)—6 (May–June, 1959) entitled “Armas, poder y libertad.”

21. Journal of Inter-American Studies, III (July, 1961), pp. 341–50.

22. Wyckoff, op. cit., p. 761.

23. P. 762.

24. European Journal of Sociology, II (1961), pp. 62–81.

25. P. 66.

26. P. 62.

27. P. 80.

28. University of California, Berkeley, Institute of International Studies. Trends in Social Science Research in Latin American Studies (Berkeley, 1965), pp. 55–99.

29. P. 55.

30. P. 65.

31. P. 56.

32. Appendix D. “The Organization and Ideology of Hemispheric Militarism,” pp. 272–290.

33. P. 285.

34. P. 286.

35. P. 282.

36. P. 287.

37. Pp. 289–90.

38. P. 285.

39. Almond and Coleman, pp. 455–531.

40. Other examples are, Robert Alexander, “The Army in Politics,” Harold E. Davis, ed., Government and Politics in Latin America (N. Y., 1958); Martin Needier, Latin American Politics in Perspective (Princeton, N.J., 1963); Karl M. Schmitt and David D. Burks, Evolution or Chaos. Dynamics of Latin American government and politics (N. Y., 1963); R. A. Gomez, Government and Politics in Latin America (N. Y., 1963); Alexander T. Edelmann, Latin American Government and Politics (Homewood, Ill., 1965); John D. Martz, The Dynamics of Change in Latin American Politics (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1965).

41. Il Politico, XXX (June, 1965), pp. 348–55.

42. P. 351.

43. P. 353.

44. P. 354.

45. Washington, Institute for the Comparative Study of Political Systems, 1964.

46. P. 37.

47. P. 40.

48. P. 36.

49. P. 39.

50. The questions involved as seen by North Americans are summarily reviewed in Bruce M. Mason, ed., The Political-Military Defense of Latin America [Bureau of Government Research, Arizona State University, Public Affairs Series, No. 5], Tempe, Ariz., 1963, and Theodore Wyckoff, ed., The Defense of Latin America: The Changing Concept [Bureau of Government Research, Arizona State University, Public Affairs Series, No. 8], Tempe, Ariz., 1964. Francis J. Michael, “Military Aid to Latin America in the U.S. Congress” (Journal of Inter-American Studies, VI [July, 1964], pp. 389–404) is a well documented study of the historical development of military assistance policy toward Latin America from 1951 to the early 1960's with particular attention to the shift of emphasis from hemispheric defense to the internal security of the Latin American nations. It is also useful for its presentation of differing views of United States public officials on the political implications of military assistance.

51. Western Political Quarterly, XVIII (June, 1965), pp. 382–393.

52. P. 384.

53. P. 385.

54. P. 388.

55. Orbis, VIII (Winter, 1965), pp. 871–893.

56. Presented in “Measurement of Latin-American Political Phenomena: A Statistical Experiment,” American Political Science Review, XLV (June, 1951), pp. 517–523; “A Statistical Evaluation of Latin-American Democracy,” Western Political Quarterly, IX (September, 1956), pp. 607–619; and “Measurement of Latin American Political Change,” American Political Science Review, LIV (September, 1961), pp. 515–526.

57. P. 890.

58. P. 893.

59. A review of military contributions to nation building and economic development may be found in my paper, “The Military,” in John J. Johnson, ed., Continuity and Change in Latin America (Stanford, 1964), pp. 136–160.

60. “The Nonmilitary Use of the Latin American Military,” Background, VIII (November, 1964), pp. 161–173.

61. “The Feasibility of Arms Control and Disarmament in Latin America,” Orbis, IX (Fall, 1965), pp. 743–759.

62. “The Nonmilitary Use of the Latin American Military,” p. 171.

63. A reasonably objective account of a particular civic action program and its achievements is the Peruvian Ministry of War's illustrated booklet, El ejército del Perú en acción cívica (Lima, 1965).

64. Panoramas, No. 6 (November-December, 1963), pp. 5–39.

65. For a somewhat more sympathetic but apocalyptic view of Nasserism see Rogelio García Lupo, “Los militares nasseristas en América Latina,” In: G. A. Nasser, La revolución nasserista (Buenos Aires, 1962), pp. 9–29.

66. Journal of Inter-American Studies, III (October, 1961), pp. 571–578.

67. Ibid., (July, 1961), pp. 351–358.

68. Ibid., VII, (October, 1965), pp. 465–484.

69. The Caribbean: Mexico Today. Ed. A. Curtis Wilgus (Gainesville, 1964), pp. 52–62.

70. P. 5.

71. University of California. Institute of International Studies, Politics of Modernization Series, No. 2.

72. P. v.

73. P. 60.

74. P. 60.

75. P. 63.

76. Pp. 68–69.

77. The tabulation is based on data from Survey of Investigations in Progress in the Field of Latin American Studies. Comp. Philip F. Flemion and Murdo J. MacLeod (Washington, Pan American Union, 1962); U.S. Department of State, Office of External Research, External Research, American Republics, 6.25–1966; Dissertation Abstracts; and personal knowledge of research in progress. It includes only items dealing explicitly and primarily with the role of the Latin American military. Identification of the project by field is based on the affiliation of the author. Although I may have missed some items, I think the figures are reasonably representative.

78. Supplement, Latin American Research Review, I (Spring, 1966).

79. In “Discussion” of Nun's previously cited paper, p. 91.