The changes that have occurred in the Western world in recent decades have produced many transformations in society. One of the areas that has been most openly affected is the military institution, derived from the redefinition of the State, new non-combat missions assigned to the armed forces, the continuation of traditional militaries and the deepening convergence of civilians and the military. Based on the book "The Postmodern Military" by Moskos, Segal and Allen, the author analyzes in this article, the impact that postmodernity is having on the military arena in Latin America and how the military is acting or reacting to this. In addition, the author analyzes the organizational changes and recommends some skills or traits that the professionals in the armed forces should acquire in the face of this era of change.
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In discussing the restructuring of the defense sector in Nicaragua, I allude to a qualitative and quantitative process in which the armed forces and all civilian agencies related to defense participate, and in which the role of civilian society and international cooperation are considered. This paper presents a general characterization of the process - the reduction of personnel and budget, the reform and modernization of the legal framework of defense, the performance of the Legislature, the Ministry of Defense, civilian society and international cooperation. Finally, by way of conclusion, an incomplete list of "lessons not learned" is provided.
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Through cowardly attacks against targets in the Americas, fundamentalist terrorism has made it clear that it is no longer a distant threat, becoming a serious issue of national security for all Western countries?one on which they all must cooperate in order to defeat. Nevertheless, it can be said that this is not a new conflict, rather the religious nature of the war has given the aggressors different appreciation of time and space, which has not been adequately understood by the West. The evolution and characteristics of this particular conflict can be examined from three perspectives, which, responding to different modes of action, attempt to explain the phenomenon of growing Islamic fundamentalism and its fanatic violence. First, the paper will discuss the rise to power of the Islamic revolution in Iran and fundamentalism, its global influence and actions taken as a result of its initiative. Second, the evolution of the fundamentalist guerrilla war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan will be examined, as well as Afghanistan?s participation in the holy war and the later development of the civil war. Finally, from a third perspective, the appearance of Osama bin Laden as the apparent global fundamentalist leader will be analyzed.
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This paper is intended to be a methodological essay that discusses how broadening budgetary analysis and quantitative information in the area of defense can serve as an instrument of transparency and public oversight. Although it is based on the case of Argentina (which the author knows intimately), the goal is to open the discussion on the broader publication of quantitative information in the region. The paper is the result of the author's double frustration with the data offered by international and official sources. The fundamental requirement for the production of useful quantitative information is that the analysis is simultaneously fed from various angles: from the budgeting systems specialist, and from the expert in the theory, policy, history and institutions of the defense sector. The author suggests possible end-users of the data, a precise definition of military expenses, and 19 series or indices with a brief explanation of their usefulness.
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Are arms races and military arms modernization programs the same thing, in other words, a competition for military supremacy? This is an important question, as some countries in South America have acquired and are currently acquiring high-tech arms systems. The criteria for a military arms modernization program differ from those that characterize a traditional arms race. Not only are the variables that lead to and condition the outbreak of an arms competition fundamentally dissimilar from arms modernization programs, but the contextual framework within which this phenomenon occurs is essentially different. That said, to what extent can these arms modernization programs generate perceptions of insecurity?
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The analysis of military expenditures in Latin America is made difficult by lack of homogeneous, coetaneous information for the different countries. This paper seeks to identify the publicly available information about the process of resource allocation to the Chilean Armed Forces, and based on this, to suggest a methodology for assembling of a set of indicators designed to elevate the quality of public information regarding this expenditure, while at the same time allowing the comparison of Chilean military expenditures with those of other countries of the continent, were the methodology adopted by them. This article is part of a larger effort sponsored by the Ford Foundation, to arrive at a common methodology of measurement of military expenditures in the Southern Cone, which has included Argentina, Chile and Peru in its first phase. This paper discusses, first, the institutional elements that condition the allocation of resources to the armed forces, the characteristics of that allocation process and, finally, the main methodological themes that affect the construction of a set of defense expenditures comparable internationally and over time. On the basis of the restrictions that this imposes, a group of indicators of the evolution and characteristics of a country?s defense expenditures is defined.
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This article reviews the current status of obligatory military service in Chile and the current discussions regarding the transformation of the Armed Forces to an all professional force. The author discusses not only the current status in Chile, but also the reforms underway in Argentina and Peru, as well as broader global tendencies in the beginnings of the 21st century. The author argues that the Chilean reform is not as visionary as reforms taking place elsewhere. Instead of eliminating obligatory military service altogether, the Chilean reform is looking to replace obligatory military service with some sort of obligatory social service so that Chilean youth can fulfill their obligation to society. The article presents some possible directions the Chilean reform might take, and concludes that in order to reform the military service, Latin American countries need to first assess the type of armed forces they require today and in the future.
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This article considers the advances of a research project about Comparative Defense Systems, sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities University Center of the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. The first section discusses different understandings of the concept of security, because of its ambiguity and complexity, and the missions of the Armed Forces. The second section takes on the role of the Mexican military, based on its missions and functions. In particular, special treatment in given to the direct participation of the military in police and security forces functions (a tendency called militarization of public security); efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and the counter-insurgency war, which allows the Mexican Armed Forces acquire arms training and combat experience, which is considered an important qualitative factor. Finally, the third section questions the future of national defense and its military instrument in Mexico through analysis of the lack of correspondence between national defense and foreign policy; the operational organization, struture and deployment of the Armed Forces; the human factor; the lack of a joint doctrine; the defense system and internal security, among other topics. The paper ends with some unanswered questions in the subject, in hopes of generating public debate about the role of the Armed Forces and a clear definition of National Security.
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This article seeks to identify the attitudes that the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Mexico have adopted toward the redefinition of the concept, and of the institutions of hemispheric security that are being developed in the Hemispheric Security Commission (HSC) of the Organization of American States (OAS). Based on the documents from the April 20-21, 1999, and March 20-21, 2000, sessions of the HSC, the article established the positions of these countries regarding five questions: their evaluation of the current state of security in the Americas; those phenomenon that each country considers to be a so-called "new threat," or "non-traditional threat" to hemispheric security; the proposals the countries make about the conceptualization of inter-american security; the evaluation and proposals of reform of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance and the Inter-American Defense Board; and, the role that each country believes the OAS - specifically the HSC - in the process of redefining the Inter-American security system. Finally, the agreements and disagreements between these countries on these issues are analyzed.
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