The book tackles the subject of the military and politics in Latin America from a broad historical perspective, drawing on literature in the field and other information based on personal interviews with officers.

In this accessible volume, John R. Bawden introduces readers to the study of armed forces in Latin American history through vivid narratives about four very different countries: Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, and Chile. Latin America has faced many of the challenges common to postcolonial states such as civil war, poorly defined borders, and politically fractured societies. Studying its militaries offers a powerful lens through which to understand major events, eras, and problems. Bawden draws on stories about the men and women who served in conventional armed forces and guerrilla armies to examine the politics and social structure of each country, the state's evolution, and relationships between soldiers and the global community. Designed as an introductory text for undergraduates, Latin American Soldiers identifies major concepts, factors, and trends that have shaped modern Latin America. It is an essential text for students of Latin American Studies or History and is particularly useful for students focusing on the military, revolutions, and political history.

The armed forces may no longer rule nations throughout Latin America, but they continue to influence democratic governments across the region. In nine original, thought-provoking essays, this book offers fresh theoretical insights into the dilemmas facing Latin American politicians as they struggle to gain full control over their military institutions. Latin America has changed in profound ways since the end of the Cold War, the re-emergence of democracy, and the ascendancy of free-market economies and trade blocs. The contributors to this volume recognize the necessity of finding intellectual approaches that speak to these transformations. They utilize a wide range of contemporary models to analyze recent political and economic reform in nations throughout Latin America, presenting case studies on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela. Bridging the gap between Latin American studies and political science, these essays not only explore the forces that shape civil-military relations in Latin America but also address larger questions of political development and democratization in the region. The contributors are Felipe Aguero, J. Samuel Fitch, Wendy Hunter, Ernesto Lopez, Brian Loveman, David R. Mares, Deborah L. Norden, David Pion-Berlin, and Harold A. Trinkunas. Latin American Studies/Political Science

Defending 'la patria,' or 'homeland,' is the historical mission claimed by Latin American armed forces. For la Patria is a comprehensive narrative history of the military's political role in Latin America in national defense and security. Latin American civil-military relations and the role of the armed forces in politics, like those of all modern nation-states, are framed by constitutional and legal norms specifying the formal relationships between the armed forces and the rest of society. In actuality, they are also the result of expectations, attitudes, values, and practices evolved over centuries-integral aspects of national political cultures. Military institutions in each Latin American nation have resulted from that country's own blend of local and imported influences, developing a distinctive pattern of civil-military relations as defender of the fatherland and guarantor of security and order. Written by Latin American specialist Brian Loveman, For la Patria includes tables, maps, photographs, and a glossary that will assist the student in better understanding the military's intervention in politics in Latin America. This new text will give students a thorough and accessible history of Latin American armed forces and their actions in Latin American politics from colonial times to the present.

This book is a collection of essays written or edited by the author across thirty-five years of scholarly research and teaching contact with the military forces of Latin America. The central thesis is that the region's armed forces have been an escort to modernity within a heritage of freedom that is different from that found in North America, yet equally valid within the broad Judeo-Christian context. The opening section positions Latin America in the post-Cold War era and examines the emerging national security trends in the region. Next comes a section on U.S. policy which stresses the tendency of analysts to confuse Cold War era security issues with the age of gunboat diplomacy. The third section explores the turbulent Carribean region and its entrapment in Cold War jousting between the superpowers. Next comes a long section of showing Colombia's model defense of democratic institutions against multiple challenges. The fifth section sketches European influence on Latin American military behavior. The unifying theme is that Latin America is a hybrid region featuring the values of the Englightenment in Mediterranean Europe grafted unevenly opon huge indigeneous societies. Then comes a section which evaluates the era of romantic leftist revolution during the latter half of the Cold War in Latin America. The final section contains unique coverage of U.S.-Latin American military relations. The author's thesis is that Latin America is the world's least militarized region, and that the academic world in North America and Western Europe have demonized the region's armed forces in a politicized resurrection of the Black Legend. Comprehensive bibliographic entries allow the reader freedom to judge and choose.