Behind the trigger: democracy, neoliberalism, and civilian militarism in Latin America

Saul M. Rodriguez

Third World Quarterly, 2025, vol. 46, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: The relationship between liberalism and militarism continues to spark debate, especially regarding the impact of neoliberalism. While ­militarism is often seen as a threat to democracy, it can paradoxically enhance state capacity when strategically employed within radical political projects. This paper presents a comparative analysis of Argentina, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Colombia from 1982 to 2004, examining the interplay of political, military and economic networks of power. Using the concept of ‘civilian militarism’, this study reveals how neoliberal adjustments allowed the rise of civilian authorities that promoted militaristic values, using military actions and norms to pursue political goals in response to crises. It explores how neoliberal policies and transformations, sometimes compounded by contradictions surrounding the illegalisation of hard drugs, opened space for the emergence of radical political projects. This deterioration, coupled with weak political or civil society activism allowed militaristic leaders to rise with the intention of addressing the troubled times in some countries more than others. By offering a macro-historical comparative perspective, this paper demonstrates how neoliberalism, and the limitations of civilian and political actors, in some countries pave the way for the emergence of civilian militarism, which, if not contained, can lead to authoritarianism.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01436597.2024.2433698 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:46:y:2025:i:1:p:1-19

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/ctwq20

DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2024.2433698

Access Statistics for this article

Third World Quarterly is currently edited by Shahid Qadir

More articles in Third World Quarterly from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().