This article looks at an aspect of Latin America that does not receive enough attention in France: security. Relatively peaceful until the 1950s, this region suffered the repercussions of US-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War. Following the wave of democratisation in the 1980s, it faced three security challenges: consolidating peace; promoting and consolidating democracy; and dealing with the ‘new threats’. This last task, the most difficult of the three, today comes up against US-Latin American divergences of view.
Security Trends in Latin America
Two main factors explain the evolution of Latin America in the field of security: its relationship with the United States, often predominant, and always decisive, even today, and the process of democratisation, of economic liberalisation and globalisation which developed in this region during the 1970s and 1980s.
The period of tension and conflicts due in particular to the Cold War is now over, but peace has yet to be consolidated. Democracy, so necessary to security, also needs to be reinforced. Moreover, Latin America is facing new challenges which weaken it. With Governments being conscious of the seriousness of the situation, some interesting measures have been taken in order to confront it. However Latin America and the western hemisphere in general still have trouble defining a common security strategy and architecture adapted to the new situation.
A Brief Historical Background
Latin America has been a relatively peaceful continent until the 1950s. It became more prone to war and conflicts with the rising of the East-West conflict and the rivalry between the military regimes.
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