The Military and Politics in Postauthoritarian Chile (review)

In this work, Gregory Weeks provides a valuable account of the relations between the armed forces and civilian administrations in Chile, beginning with the democratic transition in 1989 until 2002. Weeks engages scholarly debates surrounding the strength of Latin American militaries in postauthoritarian political life. He argues that despite the efforts of civilian governments, the Chilean armed forces maintain an active role in politics and wield considerable influence, and cautions that the military, particularly the army, have only conditionally accepted their subservience to civilian rule.

According to Weeks, the circumstances of Chile's transition period, the coherence of military doctrine, the symbolic fusion of the military and the nation, and public opinion concerning Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship have provided conditions for the military to retain its powerful position. The military's ability to avoid formal channels of contact with civilian administrations demonstrates that they had maintained enough legitimacy to assert their interests within political circles even after the transition period. The beleaguered Ministry of Defense serves as an important example that although the military has increased its interaction with formal institutions, it refuses to accept them as primary vehicles for civilian-military relations. At the same time, however, Weeks identifies areas where the civilian administrations exerted their authority over the armed forces, particularly in regards to military budgets, imprisonment of DINA director Manuel Contreras, and finally, the arrest of Pinochet. In the final analysis, Weeks warns that the military has not abandoned the idea of itself as the savior of the nation, nor has the public unanimously condemned the military's rule. He argues that the functioning of formal contact points constitutes a central component in the supremacy of the civilian government and the continuation of Chile's democratic system.

Weeks successfully discusses the strategies and reactions of the armed forces while taking into account the diversity of military interests. This work's strength is the clarity with which the author identifies points of difference between military branches, generational divisions, ideological factions, and conflicting interests. Occasionally these interests appear too self-evident, but Weeks's firm grasp of the history of the Chilean military prevents his analysis from appearing static or functional. Although he makes a clear argument about the continuation of military power in relation to civilian government, social movements of the 1980s and 1990s deserve further consideration. These organizations played a critical role in the relations between the military and civilian administrations, while also influencing public opinion toward the dictatorship in the postauthoritarian period.

In constructing his arguments, Weeks draws upon an impressive range of sources, including newspapers, government documents, congressional records, and interviews. Given the diversity of sources, a discussion of his methodological approach to their interpretation would have been informative. The prose is clear and intelligible, making this an excellent candidate for use in the classroom. In addition, the timeliness of the book and its subject matter will be of interest to a wide audience. Overall, Weeks has made a commendable contribution to the literature on militaries in postauthoritarian Latin America.