This article studies from a historical perspective the Colombian participation in the Korean War between 1950 and 1954. It seeks to show some historic elements of subordination of Colombian Armed Forces respect to the representative State regarding it use of the troops in U.N. multinational operations. This text is divided in four parts. In first place, I analyze the most important aspects of the Colombian Armed Forces and your relation with the State. In second place, I show the principals' elements of the conformation of Colombian Battalion. In the third part, I study the high commitment of the Colombian troops with the UN and US military objectives. At the last part, I discuss the political and military implications of the Colombian participation in the Korean War. This text is based on military's memoirs, interviews and academic literature.
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The world is perplexed at the changes that are inexorably and definitively altering the way it operates. This is partially revealed in the technological progress achieved in the last fifteen years. But the change is not only technological; it is also human, and we believe that therein lies part of the solution. The speed at which this change has occurred and will continue to occur is the fundamental feature of the process we are experiencing and will put most, if not all, existing paradigms to the test. It is therefore worthwhile to ask ourselves what will motivate the leaders of these organizations to recognize the existence of change as an increasingly widespread cultural phenomenon, to embrace its philosophy and promote the appropriate changes to align themselves with reality. The final result would be forces designed with a high degree of interoperability, able to interact with other forces on a regional level. Modernization, transformation, both or neither? A conceptual approach to this fascinating topic will allow us to clarify ideas, to ultimately ensure that interoperability is not the problem; it is simply part of the solution.
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The United States has largely sat on the sidelines during the more than a decade of Latin American indigenous peoples' efforts to fully participate in their countries' political and economic life. Meanwhile, the growing political space created by the Indian movements appears to be dominated by radicalized forces united by anger and opposition to the United States. In at least one case, in southern Mexico, militant Islamicists reportedly use a shared hostility to Western, Judeo-Christian ideas and identity to recruit disaffected Indians to their cause. The importance strategic thinkers now give to "failed states" and "ungoverned spaces" suggests that Native Americans can and should be full partners in efforts to improve their standard of living and to deny terrorists and organized crime sanctuary in or near areas where they live.
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The author analyzes the evolution of Ecuador's security agenda from its historical roots to its most recent development during the conflict with Peru and the effects of the conflict on the Colombian border. The author maintains that Ecuador's security agenda was historically focused on the hypotheses of a conventional conflict with Peru and was based on its military forces playing a guardianship and social integration role, which helped the general populace identify with issues of security and defense. For these reasons, Ecuador's military forces sought to be essentially dissuasive against the military superiority of the country's neighbors. However, the conception of Ecuador's security and defense was to change direction in the late 1990s, as it turned its attention to the threats represented by the rise of Colombia's internal conflict on Ecuador's border. The weakness of the President Uribe Vélez' democratic security strategy on the Colombia-Ecuador border and the influence of the United States government will be fundamental in the formation of this new security agenda. Paradoxically, however, becoming involved in the Colombian conflict can have negative consequences for Ecuador's security. Although Ecuador denounces the detrimental effects of the Colombia plan for Ecuador's security, it seeks to simultaneously benefit from the Andean Regional Initiative that has similar purposes. The Ecuadorian state seems to have traditionally focused its security agenda on external threats, while the country's great internal, political and economic instability is perhaps the more significant source of insecurity that has also hindered the establishment of a policy for a coherent and lasting defense.
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Using an approach that the author calls "hyper-realist" and a "transformational" perspective, this work attempts to establish the 16 parameters on which Colombia's security and defense system has been built and evolved. It also attempts to partially assess its impact on the dynamics of the most conflict-troubled strategic complex in the Western Hemisphere.
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In combating international terrorism in Latin America the great challenge is, unquestionably, the strengthening of institutions within nations, without which public assets, including security, cannot be guaranteed. When public opinion is consulted within the region the tendency is to look at how societies view the threat of terrorism and its relationship, for example, with the image of the United States, its foreign policy in particular and its means of addressing terrorism. Nevertheless, one point not usually noticed is that public opinion is also a factor to bear in mind in the struggle against terrorism, because it can be a condition for, although it does not determine the responses of institutionally weak states and can also detract from their institutional growth. Based on the Argentine experience, in which public opinion did not recognize the threat of international terrorism and a shortage of institutions dealing with it, the present work attempts to alert readers to that importance and propose a model of possible scenarios for bringing together the variables of public opinion and political will.
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The purpose of this article is to study the threat perception process from a theoretical point of view. Using a philosophy-based, preparatory approach that provides the means for subsequent discussion, we will study the phenomenon of threat perception, prioritizing the data on the decision process formulated by political science and international relations. In this setting, threats can be perceived in different ways by the State bureaucracy because there are various factors influencing the process, including people's education, constitutional and legal systems, bureaucratic clashes and the quantity and quality of information. Consequently, the purpose of this article is to analyze the subject of threats from the classical perspective of national defense studies, but including in the debate contributions from economic and environmental studies related to the subject of international security, seeking conclusions about how much they favor the formation of defense policy and regional cooperation.
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Like other countries in Latin America, Venezuela received the principles of the National Security Doctrine that developed during the Cold War period. This doctrine has profound repercussions on the definition of the country's national interests and its security profile. Consequently, concepts such as territoriality, sovereignty, the internal and/or external enemy and the development of the nation have guided the policies adopted by Venezuela's military and political actors in matters of security and defense over the last fifty years. However, the presidency of Hugo Chavez Frias since 1999, has implemented the Bolivarian Revolution, which includes a re-evaluation of the traditional conception of security. It is, therefore, imperative to study and analyze the components of the new geopolitical and geo-economic vision of his political project, which includes redefining strategic objectives to respond to ongoing and new national interests, establishing new civilian-military relations, the need to create a new National Armed Forces, the goal of putting aside old doctrines that are not indigenous to the country and adopting security reforms.
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