Civilian inattention and democratization: the Chilean military and political transition in the 1930s. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Weeks, Gregory
• Is Part Of: Canadian journal of Latin American and Caribbean studies. Volume 43:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 17
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: Chile -- civil-military relations -- politics -- democratization; Latin America -- Periodicals; Caribbean Area -- Periodicals; 980.005
• DOI: 10.1080/08263663.2018.1426475
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0826-3663

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Chilean political transition that took place in 1932 is commonly viewed as positive for civil-military relations. This article argues that the very means used to restore stable civilian rule in Chile in the 1930s also contributed to the slow decay of civil-military relations, especially with the army. The conceptual lesson for the contemporary period is that civilian control entails much more than avoiding coups or rebellion in the short term. Civil-military institutions and civilian leadership matter for democracy. Although civilian strategies proved highly effective in the short term, the failure to strengthen civil-military institutions ultimately carried with it a high cost in the longer term. Compounded over years, civilian inattention can lead to estrangement, which in turn can gradually erode civilian supremacy and, by extension, democracy itself.