Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela : A Comparative Perspective

Unlike most other emerging South American democracies, Venezuela has not succumbed to a successful military coup d'etat during four decades of democratic rule. What drives armed forces to follow the orders of elected leaders? And how do emerging democracies gain that control over their military establishments? Harold Trinkunas answers these questions in an examination of Venezuela's transition to democracy following military rule and its attempts to institutionalize civilian control of the military over the past sixty years, a period that included three regime changes. Trinkunas first focuses on the strategic choices democratizers make about the military and how these affect the internal civil-military balance of power in a new regime. He then analyzes a regime's capacity to institutionalize civilian control, looking specifically at Venezuela's failures and successes in this arena during three periods of intense change: the October revolution (1945-48), the Pact of Punto Fijo period (1958-98), and the Fifth Republic under President Hugo Chavez (1998 to the present). Placing Venezuela in comparative perspective with Argentina, Chile, and Spain, Trinkunas identifies the bureaucratic mechanisms democracies need in order to sustain civilian authority over the armed forces. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Abbreviations 14 1. Democracy and Civilian Control of the Armed Forces: Venezuela in Comparative Perspective 16 2. A Lost Opportunity: The Failure of Democratization in Venezuela, 1945–1948 42 3. The 1958 Transition to Democracy in Venezuela: Strategizing Civilian Control 77 4. Statecraft and Military Subordination in Venezuela, 1959–1973 125 5. Civilian Control under Fire: Resisting Challenges from the Military in Venezuela, 1992 171 6. Revolutionizing Civil-Military Relations? Hugo Chávez and the Fifth Republic in Venezuela, 1998–2004 221 7. Assessing the Relationship between Civilian Control of the Military and the Consolidation of Democracy 249 Notes 280 References 284 Index 304 A 304 B 305 C 305 D 307 E 307 F 307 G 307 H 308 I 308 J 308 K 308 L 308 M 309 N 309 O 309 P 309 Q 310 R 310 S 311 T 311 U 311 V 311 W 312 Z 312

Trinkunas examines Venezuela's transition to democracy following military rule and its attempts to institutionalize civilian control of the military over the past sixty years, a period that included three regime changes. Placing Venezuela in comparative perspective with Argentina, Chile, and Spain, Trinkunas identifies the bureaucratic mechanisms democracies need in order to sustain civilian authority over the armed forces.