In 1932 security forces in El Salvador murdered 25,000 peasants and workers. Between 1978 and 1991 the Salvadoran government killed an additional 50,000 civilians. Death squads maimed and tortured their victims, who included labor organizers, priests, and teachers. By the later months of 1980, government forces were slaughtering 1,000 civilians a month. Most of those killed were poor or worked with the poor. In per capita terms Salvadoran state terror was among the worst in the hemisphere. States have killed more people than have rebellions, but we know very little about what factors influence this genocide. Why do states kill? In this provocative and chilling book, William Stanley demonstrates that the Salvadoran military state was essentially a protection racket. It offered protection to the elites from civilian uprising and in return received a concession to govern. This protection took the form of wide-scale murder.As Stanley puts it, 'State violence was a currency of relations between state and non-state elites'. There are valuable lessons in this book for all those concerned with state-sponsored terror. It indicts the United States for having strengthened the might of the Salvadoran military. It challenges conventional wisdom about governments and repression and shows state-sponsored violence as much more than just a response to opposition. Author note: William Stanley is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of New Mexico.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Military Extortion,
By Susanna B Hecht "Jurua" (Topanga, California USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Protection Racket State: Elite Politics, Military Extortion, and Civil War in El Salvador (Political Science/Latin America Studies) (Paperback)
This volume, which has been reviewed quite widely, is an excellent contribution to understanding the nature of the conflict in ES and the kind of social trade offs elites made to stay in power. A really useful addition to military in LA studies, revolution studies and of course required for those engaged in the question for ES development
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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public order law, reformist junior officers, civilian rightists, reformist coup, reformist officers, protection racket state, reformist civilians, first junta, security force units, private sector elite, new civilian police force, protection racketeering, agrarian elite, reformist military, rightist coup, human rights pressures, military unity, conservative civilians, curity forces, death squad activities Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, San Salvador, National Guard, Christian Democrats, Mena Sandoval, National Police, State Department, Costa Rica, Santa Ana, Broad National Front, Central America, National Resistance, Equipo Molina, United Nations, Ambassador White, Treasury Police, Colonel Majano, United Popular Action Front, President Romero, Communist Party, Popular Forces of Liberation, Estudios Centroamericanos, Legislative Assembly, Latin American, Robert White Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
public order law, reformist junior officers, civilian rightists, reformist coup, reformist officers, protection racket state, reformist civilians, first junta, security force units, private sector elite, new civilian police force, protection racketeering, agrarian elite, reformist military, rightist coup, human rights pressures, military unity, conservative civilians, curity forces, death squad activities Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, San Salvador, National Guard, Christian Democrats, Mena Sandoval, National Police, State Department, Costa Rica, Santa Ana, Broad National Front, Central America, National Resistance, Equipo Molina, United Nations, Ambassador White, Treasury Police, Colonel Majano, United Popular Action Front, President Romero, Communist Party, Popular Forces of Liberation, Estudios Centroamericanos, Legislative Assembly, Latin American, Robert White Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
18
books
cite this book:
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- Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America by Kevin J. Middlebrook in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Death Squads in Global Perspective: Murder with Deniability by Bruce B. Campbell on page 112, page 177, and Back Matter
- Death Squads in Global Perspective: Murder with Deniability by Bruce B. Campbell on page 112, page 177, and Back Matter
- Transnational Conflicts: Central America, Social Change, and Globalization by William I. Robinson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Legacies of Liberalism: Path Dependence and Political Regimes in Central America by James Mahoney in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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