Latin America's Increased Role in UN Peace Operations: Current Trends and a Note of Caution
Abstract
Latin America is an active participant in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping
operations (PKO). Blue helmets from South and Central America
are currently deployed in various UN-sponsored missions around the
world. T his picture contrasts markedly from past decades, when military
institutions were widely known for intervening in domestic affairs via
coups, rather than for promoting human rights and democracy abroad.
Historically, the region has been a recipient, not an exporter, of foreign
troops. Throughout the 1990s, peacekeeping (PK) soldiers were deployed
to pacify Central America and the Andes; to date, Central American and
Andean blue helmets are pacifying regions within and beyond the Western Hemisphere. Hence, Latin America has now become an exporter of peace,
not because instability and violence ha\'e diminished at home, but because
governments across the region have gradually increased their troop
commitment to UN peace efforts. At a time when military budgets in
North America and Europe are in decline, Latin America's commitment
to international security appears to be rising. This could signify a new era
for regional security affairs, with Latin American states increasingly
engaged in world politics and the armed forces exposed to globalizing
trends.
Description
Chapter 7
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
From Tragedy to Success in Colombia: The Centrality of Effectiveness in Civil-Military Relations
Bruneau, Thomas C.; Goetze, Richard B. Jr. (2019-07);In the late 1990s, Colombia was considered by many to be a failed state due to endemic crime, pervasive violence, and nation-wide terrorism that resulted in the displacement of the rural population and, due to rampant ... -
Deviant Globalization and the Unintended Consequences of Coca Eradication in Colombia
Pires, Nuno M. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2012-06);By the late 1980s, Colombia had become the worlds leading producer and exporter of cocaine, as well as the most important coca growing country in the Andes. In the context of the War on Drugs, U.S. aid to the country ... -
Venezuelan Strategic Culture
Trinkunas, Harold (2009-07);At first glance, it is difficult to see the strategic culture of Venezuela in action since it has not fought a war with a foreign adversary since its independence from Gran Colombia in 1830. However, by looking at a broad ...