ABSTRACT
At least since the republics were formed, the military institution has had a permanent presence in Latin American countries. Throughout the twentieth century, their influence was decisive in shaping the political and institutional life of most of the region's nations. To a great extent, at least until the end of the 1980s, the Latin American states were configured under the shadow of military power, whose influence became particularly strong starting in the mid-1960s. In the 1980s, domestic economic failures, international pressure, and popular demands for democratization led to a series of transitions in which, by the end of the decade, virtually all the governments of the region had established civilian-led regimes through competitive elections. 1 The process of democratization led scholars to focus on the nature of civil–military relations, and on the role, if any, for the armed institution in a democratic society. 2
