Democratization and the politics of national security in Argentina.
Item
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Title
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Democratization and the politics of national security in Argentina.
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Identifier
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AAI9417493
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identifier
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9417493
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Creator
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McSherry, Joan Patrice.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Kenneth P. Erickson
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Date
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1994
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Political Science, General | History, Latin American | Political Science, International Law and Relations
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Abstract
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In many countries emerging from military rule, a central task of democratization is to confine the power of the armed forces within constitutional bounds. This is especially the case in Latin America, where a particular version of national-security doctrine was pervasive after the 1950s. The national-security doctrine became essentially the theoretical justification for a militarized state antithetical to a democratic model. This study examines the impact of enduring national-security ideology, structures, "dirty war" methods and military political intervention after the 1983 transition to civilian government in Argentina.;The armed forces suffered a defeat in the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas war, opening the way for the election of Raul Alfonsin in 1983. This study explores the political dynamics and tensions of the next years, as democratizing forces clashed with conservative military and civilian sectors attempting to preserve the political capacities and prerogatives of the armed forces. The central hypothesis of the study is that Argentina's armed forces retained a core of counterinsurgency structures and politicized ideology from the national-security states, based on an expansive vision of national security. These embedded structures and ideology shaped the democratization process, affecting political participation, policy formulation, and relevant political actors.;The study finds that over time, the armed forces regained substantial power in Argentina. Given the impracticality of a traditional coup, politicized sectors of the armed forces sought to pressure and condition the civilian government by degrees. While opposing the methods of the insurrectionist sector, the "loyalists" often acted to support its goals. These goals were political and not solely institutional: to reverse policies of the civilian government, narrow the political opening, and channel the democratization process so that military concerns and criteria would be incorporated within democratic institutions and legislation. These concerns included vindication of the national-security state and the dirty war, acceptance of the armed forces as a factor of political power, and preservation of a military internal security function. Gradually, elements of a guardian system were implanted, in which military tutelage and national-security norms, values and structures were legalized and institutionalized within the framework of democracy.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
