ABSTRACT
The emergence of an international human rights network has transformed the discourse and politics of accountability of repressive states in the late twentieth century. Beginning in 1982, the Guatemalan military put in place a unique form of constitutionalist state, fashioning a process of political transition that consolidated the existing military structure institutionally while utilizing the vocabulary of democracy and human rights. By focusing on the Guatemalan military, this chapter provides a case study that illustrates a potentially broader phenomenon under contemporary conditions—one that inevitably affects the viability of strategies for promoting respect for human rights. It analyses the relationship between national security and democracy has profound implications not only for the strategic approaches of the international human rights movement but also for the legal community. The continued reliance on a decontextualized language regarding democracy and human rights allows the meaning of rights to be obscured and leaves open the possibility that democratic discourse will be looted by national security states.
