MILITARY AUTONOMY AND EMERGING DEMOCRACIES IN SOUTH-AMERICA

Eschewing sweeping generalizations about military autonomy in South America, this study explores critical variations in the degree to which the military is willing and able to defend its perceived prerogatives under democratic rule. There is a ceiling above which the armed forces prefer not to or can not go and below which they desire to extend their influence within the democratic order. The extent varies according to country and issue area. The armed forces have exerted more leverage over democratic governments in Brazil and Chile then in Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina, and levels of military autonomy are higher for internal professional functions than for functions in either the gray zone between professional and political spheres of influence or the political sphere itself.