Abstract:This article analyses the competing security perspectives of hemispheric and South American defence cooperation initiatives. While the Organization of American States (OAS) emphasises domestic roles for armed forces in the region, concentrating on internal threats such as organised crime and terrorism, the South American Defence Council (CDS) emphasises the traditional conception of security, concentrating on the defence of sovereign states against external military threats. Despite its apparent consistency, t… Show more
“…Presenting itself as an education center of excellence, the Perry Center began in 1997 by initiative of the then Secretary of Defense, William Perry. An institution of the US Department of Defense and associated with the Southern and Northern Commands, the Center receives Latin American military and civilian personnel who are exposed to training in US security doctrines (Vitelli 2020). It acts in the following three areas: education; advice to American nations in the formulation of defense and security policies; and an integrated network of alumni who participate in continuous discussions in an extension model.…”
From a neo-Gramscian approach, this research analyses the military institution of the Southern Command as a strategic instrument to U.S. hegemonic maintenance in Latin America. To this end, this article seeks to present an X-ray of the Southern Command from the 2000s, paying attention to its organization, budget structure, and its operating strategies – in particular, in the use of military bases, in the development of ‘partnerships’ for defense and public security, and in the analysis of military education and training in the schools where this institution operates. To conduct the analysis, primary data were collected from documents and electronic sites published by the same institution and by high level institutions, such as the Department of Defense and the U.S. Congress. As a result, we conclude that the Southern Command is characterized by a hybrid mechanism for hegemonic maintenance through a combination that simultaneously encompasses the use of force and consensus.
“…Presenting itself as an education center of excellence, the Perry Center began in 1997 by initiative of the then Secretary of Defense, William Perry. An institution of the US Department of Defense and associated with the Southern and Northern Commands, the Center receives Latin American military and civilian personnel who are exposed to training in US security doctrines (Vitelli 2020). It acts in the following three areas: education; advice to American nations in the formulation of defense and security policies; and an integrated network of alumni who participate in continuous discussions in an extension model.…”
From a neo-Gramscian approach, this research analyses the military institution of the Southern Command as a strategic instrument to U.S. hegemonic maintenance in Latin America. To this end, this article seeks to present an X-ray of the Southern Command from the 2000s, paying attention to its organization, budget structure, and its operating strategies – in particular, in the use of military bases, in the development of ‘partnerships’ for defense and public security, and in the analysis of military education and training in the schools where this institution operates. To conduct the analysis, primary data were collected from documents and electronic sites published by the same institution and by high level institutions, such as the Department of Defense and the U.S. Congress. As a result, we conclude that the Southern Command is characterized by a hybrid mechanism for hegemonic maintenance through a combination that simultaneously encompasses the use of force and consensus.
“…Al inicio, las contradicciones internas en el CDS sobre la seguridad no afectaron la super-vivencia de la comunidad de seguridad, sino que pusieron un límite a su desarrollo hacia un estadio más maduro, y obstruyeron la posibilidad de formular una identidad estratégica centrada en la defensa externa (Vitelli 2020). Ahora bien, con el correr del tiempo, los desacuerdos sobre las funciones de las Fuerzas Armadas y la tipificación de las amenazas se agudizaron, a tal punto que terminaron debilitando las iniciativas más propias de una comunidad de seguridad, como la construcción de una confianza que vuelva impensable el uso de la fuerza para resolver disputas.…”
Section: Dificultad Para Identificar Amenazas Comunesunclassified
El artículo analiza el desarrollo de una comunidad de seguridad en América del Sur y el impacto que tuvo sobre ella la pandemia provocada por el coronavirus. A partir de un enfoque constructivista, en la primera parte del trabajo se explica cómo la crisis del regionalismo, la dificultad para definir amenazas comunes y la erosión de la identidad colectiva atentaron contra la maduración de la comunidad de seguridad sudamericana. Sobre este escenario, se argumenta que la crisis sanitaria originada por la COVID-19 dio lugar a un movimiento de resecuritización que profundizó el retroceso de la comunidad y se manifestó en tres indicadores: 1) la proliferación de discursos que identifican a los vecinos como una amenaza a la seguridad y la salud; 2) la fortificación de las fronteras; 3) el incremento de la militarización de la seguridad ciudadana y otras esferas de la arena pública. Como conclusión, se sostiene que ese tipo de prácticas y discursos da lugar a un tipo de comunidad política parecida a una sociedad anárquica, en la que los Estados se identifican más como rivales que como amigos.
Abstract
The article analyzes the development of a security community in South America and the impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on it. By using a constructivist methodology, the paper analyzes how the crisis of regionalism, the difficulty in defining common threats and the erosion of a collective identity hampered the maturation of the community. In this context, it is argued that the health crisis caused by COVID-19 gave rise to a securitization process that deepened the process of dismantling that community and was reflected in three indicators: 1) the proliferation of discourses that identify neighbors as a threat to safety and health; 2) a fortification of the borders; 3) an increase in the militarization of citizen security and other spheres of the public arena. It is concluded that this type of practice and discourse gives rise to a type of political community similar to an anarchic society, where states identify themselves as rivals rather than friends.
“…A partir de la Declaración de Seguridad para las Américas (OEA 2003) se amplía "oficialmente" la agenda de seguridad a nuevas amenazas multidimensionales en la región. Sin embargo, esa apertura se extiende más a lo académico y lo discursivo que a las políticas realmente implementadas (Goldstein, 2016;Vitelli, 2020).…”
La seguridad en Latinoamérica ha sido abordada tradicionalmente desde una visión estatocéntrica y marcadamente realista, destacando las amenazas que sufre el Estado frente a un actor externo o frente a desestabilizaciones internas. Este artículo busca resaltar la idoneidad de introducir los estudios feministas de seguridad y la ética del cuidado en los análisis de seguridad, en aras de redefinir las amenazas y qué implica “sentirse seguro”, máxime en el escenario generado por la pandemia de la COVID-19. Para ello, se evidencian las lagunas y los silencios de las teorías dominantes a la hora de entender el agravamiento de los desafíos a la seguridad en los primeros seis meses de pandemia y cómo desde la ética del cuidado sí se incorporan esos matices y percepciones de seguridad. Se concluye que la ética del cuidado conlleva un ensanchamiento conceptual a la hora de analizar —académica y políticamente— las amenazas a la seguridad en Latinoamérica.
Abstract
Security in Latin America has traditionally been addressed from a state-centric and notable realistic perspective, underlining the threats to the state, from an external actor or from internal destabilization. This paper aims to highlight the suitability of incorporating Feminist Security Studies and Care Ethics in security analysis in order to redefine threats and what “feeling safe” implies, especially in the scenario generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, the gaps and silences in mainstream theories in the diagnoses on the worsening of the security challenges in the first semester of the pandemic are evidenced. Also, the nuances and perceptions of security included in the Care Ethics approach are highlighted. It is concluded that the conceptual broadening that the Care Ethics approach entails is relevant to analyze —academically and politically— the security threats in Latin America.
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