Incomplete Transition: Military Power and Democracy in Argentina

by J Patrice McSherry

Overview

During the Cold War, a series of coups in Latin America resulted in a new form of military rule-the national security state-in which the armed forces ruled as an institution and drastically transformed state and society to conform to a messianic vision of national security. This book examines the lasting impact of institutionalized military power on Argentine state and society and the structural legacies of the national security state. Despite important steps toward democracy in the 1980s, security and intelligence forces acted to block democratizing measures and shape the emerging political system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780595510108
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/19/2008
Pages:	420
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

Editorial Reviews

McSherry's book is important and well-documented, but repetitive and about 100 pages too long. Part I summarizes th role of the military in Argentine politics betwen 1930 and 1983. Part II contains for the four key chapters on the political impact of military and security forces during the Alfonsin administration (1983-89), with a concluding chapter on the Menem government 1989-1996. The Central argument is that the Argentine military did not collapse after its military/political defeat in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas War, which followed it infamous "Dirty War" against guerrillas and "leftist" ideology. The Argentine military was unable to negotiate a formal continuation of its political role in civilian governments, as happened in Chile and Brazil; but McSherry provides detailed and chilling evidence that Alfonsin failed to change the fundamentally antidemocratic structures and ideology of the armed forces and intelligence organizations. After each revolt, Alfonsin made further concessions to the military. President Menem, while more successful in achieving his own political/economic goals, is portrayed as being uninterested in the subordination of military power to civilian law and legislative direction. this is not "Argentina for Beginners"; a more balanced view of politics and society is Daniel Poneman's Argentina: Democracy on Trial.

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