Militarization and Demilitarization in El Salvador’s Transition to Democracy (Pitt Latin American Series)

With the resignation of General Renee Emilio Ponce in March 1993, the Salvadorian army's sixty-year domination of El Salvador came to an end. The country's January 1992 peace accords stripped the military of the power it once enjoyed, placing many areas under civilian rule. Establishing civilian control during the transition to democracy was no easy task, especially for a country that had never experienced even a brief period of democracy in its history. Phillip J. Williams and Knut Walter argue that prolonged military rule produced powerful obstacles that limited the possibilities for demilitarization in the wake of the peace accords. The failure of the accords to address several key aspects of the military's political power had important implications for the democratic transition and for future civil-military relations. Drawing on an impressive array of primary source materials and interviews, this book will be valuable to students, scholars, and policy makers concerned with civil-military relations, democratic transitions, and the peace process in Central America.

With the resignation of General Renee Emilio Ponce in March 1993, the Salvadorian army’s sixty-year domination of El Salvador came to an end.  The country’s January 1992 peace accords stripped the military of the power it once enjoyed, placing many areas under civilian rule.  Establishing civilian control during the transition to democracy was no easy task, especially for a country that had never experienced even a brief period of democracy in its history.

Phillip J. Williams and Knut Walter argue that prolonged military rule produced powerful obstacles that limited the possibilities for demilitarization in the wake of the peace accords.  The failure of the accords to address several key aspects of the military’s political power had important implications for the democratic transition and for future civil-military relations.

Drawing on an impressive array of primary source materials and interviews, this book will be valuable to students, scholars, and policy makers concerned with civil-military relations, democratic transitions, and the peace process in Central America.

A superbly crafted and extremely well written book. . . . With regard to comparable literature, Militarization and Demilitarization in El Salvador's Transition to Democracy is unique."--Tommie Sue Montgomery, University of Miami, North-South CenterMilitarization and Demilitarization in El Salvador's Transition to Democracy is the first major comprehensive examination of the El Salvadoran armed forces during the twentieth century."--Caesar Sereseres, University of California, IrvineTwo of today's leading authorities on Central America--one a historian, the other a political scientist--have combined their complementary talents to produce a landmark study of Salvadoran politics. . . . An important contribution to the scholarly literature on militarism and transition, his clearly-written study will also be useful in the classroom and of interest to the general public."--Thomas W. Walker Introduction The 1931 coup and the consolidation of military rule The new armed forces of the revolutionary government The era of national conciliation The political crisis of the 1970s The military and democratization during the 1980s The armed forces after the peace accords Conclusions : the road ahead.