Throughout the last decades, the armies of the European countries have evolved in a non-concerted but convergent way, developing common characteristics among which the growing integration of women, both in the troop class and in the officer ranks, stands out. This work makes a comparative exercise of the different national cases, establishing as basic elements of analysis the antecedents of the presence of women in the Army, the normative evolution that has protected and governed their incorporation to the ranks, their specific quantitative and qualitative dimensions in the armies, the diverse modalities of access to the academies, the possible limitations in the professional career, and the level of evolution of certain social policies that favor the professional development and the family norms.
Read more
China's engagement with Latin America on satellites, space launch, and space technology is limited, but expanding rapidly, following the logic that China has followed in other strategically important sectors of incrementally building relationships, and leveraging initial opportunities to develop and prove capabilities. This article analyzes China's expanding relationship with Latin America in the arena in terms of four countries: (1) those with limited space capabilities not actively pursuing space programs, with whom the PRC has few space-related ties, (2) populist regimes such as Venezuela and Bolivia purchasing complete packages of PRC satellite systems and launch services, (3) other countries developing space capabilities, where China has sought to be a service provider or technology partner, including Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Peru, and (4) Brazil as an emerging regional power with a multidimensional space program, which has cooperated with the PRC in both satellite development and launch through the CBERS program. In general, by leveraging business opportunities with Brazil and populist regimes of the region, the PRC is gaining a foothold in the commercial satellite and launch services market, with Chinese equipment, personnel, and space systems becoming part of Latin America's infrastructure, with significant implications for the US and the region.
Read more
Brazil advanced the proposal for the South American Defense Council shortly before the summit that created UNASUR. It was approved a few months later on the occasion of another summit. The Defense Council is unprecedented in the region and challenges member states to design foreign policy together. Considering the history of security and defense arrangements in the hemisphere, Brazilian leadership in security and defense matters is an interesting new move towards regionalism. Besides the Council, during the Lula da Silva administration there have also been some other attempts at governance-building in and outside the region under Brazilian leadership. Since the theme of leadership is recurrent, especially since the military rule in Brazil, is there old wine in new bottles? Why Brazil? Why now?-these are the main research questions of this work, which also analyzes institution design and functions. Both the distinction and the connection between defense and security are explored together with an examination of both leadership and regionalism in Brazilian foreign policy and its recent move towards institution-building to deal with security and defense matters multilaterally. The paper suggests that whether the Council will be more inclined to deal with issues inside or outside the region is a key factor for the prospects of its effectiveness and endurance.
Read more
This essay analyzes the relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Colombia in the strategic context of the region. It begins with an analysis of why growing relations between China and the region are a key security and defense issue, despite the mainly economic nature of the relationship. It continues with an analysis of China's strategic interests in Colombia within the framework of general interests in the region, which include access to primary products, access to markets, isolating Taiwan, and fostering a secure environment for China's rise in the world. He concludes that relations between Colombia and the People's Republic of China in recent years have been primarily commercial in nature, with multiple strategic implications for Colombia, including the evolution of its trade structure, the increase in human trafficking, and the indirect empowerment of irregular forces and external threats in its neighborhood, and that China-Colombia-US relations should be understood as a triangle in which the development of one party impacts the others, but with opportunities to collaborate, including defense and criminality issues that involve the entire region.
Read more
