Military Professionalization and the Origins of Democracy in South America

• In Event: The Origins and Precariousness of Democracy: Historical Perspectives

Abstract

What led to the emergence of democracy in South America at the outset of the 20th century? Much of the democratization literature has suggested that democracy arises as a mechanism to pacify conflicts—the government provides the opposition with a share of power (or a chance to win it) and the opposition, in exchange, refrains from revolting. From this perspective, democracy is facilitated by military weakness: it emerges when the government concludes that it cannot suppress the opposition or that the costs of doing so are too high. Democracy in South America, however, arose when the military strength of the government increased. During the 19th century, the opposition frequently carried out armed revolts and sometimes overthrew the government. These revolts undermined constitutional rule and led to state repression and the violation of civil and political liberties. At the turn of the century, however, South American governments strengthened and professionalized their militaries, which made it easier to suppress armed revolts. As a result, the opposition abandoned the armed struggle and began to focus on the electoral path to power, pushing for democratic reforms that would level the electoral playing field. This paper explores these arguments by drawing on an original data set of all revolts in the region from 1830 – 1929, and case studies of democratization in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay.

Author

• Raul L. Madrid, University of Texas at Austin