ABSTRACT
From the beginning of the American Republic, key US leaders have coveted Latin America. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the late 1780s that it was in the interest of the United States "to gain it from them piece by piece." The US hegemonic ambition has been an established fact throughout the twentieth century. It is well recognized and often deeply resented in Latin America. In the United States, academics were writing about hegemony, imperialism, and empire within a decade of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The post-World War II period has been a tumultuous one for the Southern Cone nations and Brazil. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay have each gone through wrenching experiences with new forms of repressive military authoritarian rule. The roles of their armed forces have undergone profound shifts as they were directly involved in the direction and management of their respective societies, undertaking responsibilities well outside the realm of legitimate military roles in democratic theory.
