Despite rivalries, crises, and notoriously violent internal political processes, South American states have paradoxically avoided a major intraregional, interstate war since 1935. Martin examines why and how intraregional, interstate relations in South America remained relatively peaceful. This analysisis theoretically and empirically interesting because in this region, the conditions for war assumed by political realism were present, yet a major war did not erupt. Conversely, the conditions for interstate peace presupposed by international liberalism were absent, but intraregional peace prevailed for over sixty-five years. Martin derives several realist and liberal propositions on the causes of war and peace and tests them, utilizing evidence from the peace in South America, as well as developing and discussing the "Militarist Peace" hypothesis.
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Editorial Reviews
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"A coherent, strong and well-organized [book] that will make a significant contribution to the literature."--Pablo Toral, Department of Political Science, Beloit College
"Highly original and stimulating...of superb intellectual quality."--Carlos Seiglie, Department of Economics, Rutgers University
"Highly original and stimulating...of superb intellectual quality."--Carlos Seiglie, Department of Economics, Rutgers University
"This study confounds popular assumptions and accounts for a surprising phenomenon that cannot be explained by standard international relations theories. It shows clearly that in the region where instability and military regimes have been prevalent, wars between countries do not occur. Peace between states endures, perversely, not despite militarism but because of it. Powerful evidence, fascinating analysis, and a conclusion that theorists of the causes of war cannot ignore."--Richard Betts, Director, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University
"This is an important addition to the growing literature on war in Latin America. Better than anyone, Martín has engaged in a thorough review of how Latin America confirms or refutes international relations theory. As such, the book will be critical reading for not only those working on the continent, but for students of war in general. Martín's emphasis on the critical role of military socialization makes a great deal of sense and places the actions and proclivities of Latin American soldiers in a new light."--Miguel Angel Centeno, Princeton University
"This is an important addition to the growing literature on war in Latin America. Better than anyone, Martín has engaged in a thorough review of how Latin America confirms or refutes international relations theory. As such, the book will be critical reading for not only those working on the continent, but for students of war in general. Martín's emphasis on the critical role of military socialization makes a great deal of sense and places the actions and proclivities of Latin American soldiers in a new light."--Miguel Angel Centeno, Princeton University
"We think of democracies as the club of nations that never fight wars against each other. Yet South America's states, including many military dictatorships, have not fought a major war among themselves since 1935. Félix Martín's Militarist Peace in South America advances the innovative argument that the continent's militaries came to adopt a transnational professional ethos that underpinned this unequaled peace. This stimulating challenge to conventional wisdom deserves to be read and debated widely."--Jack Snyder, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations, Columbia University
"Written in a formal academic style and with heavy documentation, the work makes contributions to both international relations theory and Latin American studies. It belongs in most university and college collections."--J.A. Rhodes, Luther College, Choice Magazine
About the Author
Félix Martín is Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Florida International University.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book,
This review is from: Militarist Peace in South America: Conditions for War and Peace (Hardcover)
If you want to understand why interstate relations in South America have remained one of the most peaceful in the globe in the last 70 years, I think this is the right book for you.In Militarist Peace in South America, Félix Martín seeks to explain how peace can be explained in a region whose realist conditions for war are present and the liberal conditions for peace are absent. After proceeding through a meticulous test of both the realist and the liberal hypotheses to the causes of war and peace, Martín concludes that the South American peace, which has impressively lasted for over seventy years,has been maintained mainly through the transnational dimension of the military institution in South America. Instead of being the protectors of the states from external threats, the militaries of the South American nations have become the guardians of the state from internal political foes. This, Martín asserts, is the main reason for the long South American peace. What is relevant to note here is that Martín found only a small causal relationship between the most relevant realist propositions and the prevalence of peace in that region of the globe. He tested dyadic deterrence, balance of power, and hegemonic stability theories, but only the first one provided explanation - and a partial one - to the absence of conflict in South America. In four out of the eight cases studied the defender, given a clear superior material capability, has deterred the challenger. The Argentine-Brazilian and the Bolivian-Chilean dyads are the most compelling examples. As for the balance of power theory, Martín argues that it can not offer an adequate explanation to the stability of the South American continent. This is because both the periods of conflict and those of peace coincided with a bipolar configuration of the sub-system, and thus bipolarity can not explain the permanence of peace. Finally, the peacekeeping and peacemaking impact of the U.S. on the South American peace is too tenuous to provide an explanation to the prevention of wars in South America. A great scholarly achievement. I totally recommend!
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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major power war, international interactions, capability distribution, common security system, intraregional trading partners, classificatory threshold, dyadic deterrence, bipolar subsystem, intraregional peace, intraregional bilateral trade, interstate peace, national material capabilities, intraregional wars, militarized crises, militarized interstate crises, militarized crisis, dyadic balance, interstate armed conflict, hegemonic peace, hegemonic management, immediate deterrence, internal political violence, peace hypothesis, top trading partner, polar configuration Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South America, United States, Latin America, Chaco War, United Nations, Beagle Channel, New York, Percentage of Total Trade, Yearbook of International Trade Statistics, World War, Bipolar Bipolar Peace, Unipolar Brazil, Western Hemisphere, War of the Pacific, Reconstructing the Correlates of War Dataset, Total Percentage, Trading Partners, John Stuckey, Gulf of Venezuela, United Kingdom, Beverly Hills, Material Capabilities of States, Sage Publications, Great Britain, Bipolar Unipolar Peace Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
major power war, international interactions, capability distribution, common security system, intraregional trading partners, classificatory threshold, dyadic deterrence, bipolar subsystem, intraregional peace, intraregional bilateral trade, interstate peace, national material capabilities, intraregional wars, militarized crises, militarized interstate crises, militarized crisis, dyadic balance, interstate armed conflict, hegemonic peace, hegemonic management, immediate deterrence, internal political violence, peace hypothesis, top trading partner, polar configuration Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South America, United States, Latin America, Chaco War, United Nations, Beagle Channel, New York, Percentage of Total Trade, Yearbook of International Trade Statistics, World War, Bipolar Bipolar Peace, Unipolar Brazil, Western Hemisphere, War of the Pacific, Reconstructing the Correlates of War Dataset, Total Percentage, Trading Partners, John Stuckey, Gulf of Venezuela, United Kingdom, Beverly Hills, Material Capabilities of States, Sage Publications, Great Britain, Bipolar Unipolar Peace Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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