Defense diplomacy in Argentina: finding new roles for the military in democracy

• In Event: Defense diplomacy and nuclear issues

Abstract

With the advent of democracy in Argentina, civil-military relations were reshaped and the role of the armed forces was redefined in response to a new domestic, regional and international context. As part of a new foreign policy that sought to provide “prestige” to the administration of President Carlos Menem and in order to also exert “objective civilian control” over the military, the administration of Menem was “instrumental in depoliticizing the armed forces, providing them with renewed prestige and professional roles, and stabilizing civil-military relations.”
During the 1990s, “Argentina became one of the UN most reliable participants in peacekeeping operations,” participating in several of the UN missions around the globe. The participation in peacekeeping operations brought a new morale to the Armed Forces and helped to integrate them as a relevant non-political actor in the government life. This policy was followed by the creation in 1995, of a training center for peacekeepers from around the world. More recently, Argentina and Chile formally created a binational peace force Cruz del Sur that support UN peace operations.
These examples of defense diplomacy show that even in the absence of traditional inter-state conflicts or external threats to their sovereignties, countries in the Global South have an opportunity to reshape their armed forces in ways that they serve foreign policy objectives while fulfilling new roles. This paper will look at the ways defense diplomacy in Argentina was critical to consolidate a model of military subordination in a new democracy.

Authors

• M. Carina Solmirano, Universidad de San Andres

• Andrea Oelsner, Universidad de San Andrés