On the road to democracy : civil-military relations in El Salvador

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to determine to what extent the civilian-elected authorities have achieved control over the military in El Salvador. Much of the literature on democratization suggests that such control is a necessary condition for the full consolidation of democracy within a country. This thesis begins with a historical overview of civil-military relations in El Salvador, and focuses on current civil military relations. The application of Alfred Stepan's eleven prerogatives is used to measure the level of civilian control over the military. The analysis suggests that three of the military prerogatives have been reduced substantially, that six prerogatives presented a change from the high to moderate category, that one prerogative related to the relations with the chief executive remains in the moderate category, and finally that the military prerogative on officer promotions remains in the high category. Based on this analysis, this thesis concludes that since 1992, elected civilian authorities have achieved considerable control over the military, that thus civil-military relations in El Salvador are on the right track to help the country towards consolidating a democracy.