Civil-Military Relations Program in Guatemala: Lessons Learned and Future Challenges
Abstract
The Center for Civil-Military Relations (CCMR) was invited to offer a program in July 1997 to assist Guatemala in consolidating democratic civil-military relations. By the end of 1998 the program had gone through four phases, and appears to have established a momentum in which discussion regarding the proper roles for civilians and military officials in a democracy is both legitimate and frequent. In this report, the author describes the different phases of the program and discusses lessons learned during the past 1 1/2 years. Between 1966 and 1985, all Guatemalan governments were dominated by the armed forces, and the coup d'etat was the most common mechanism for regime change. Between 1960 and 1996 the country was engaged in an armed insurrection, a virtual civil war. During this period 140,000 people were killed, 1 million uprooted out of a total population of 11 million, and the abuse of human rights, by both the government and the insurgent forces, was common. Largely due to decisions and dynamics within the armed forces themselves, the country gradually transitioned towards a democratic regime from the mid-1980s. An attempted autocoup of President Jorge Serrano in May of 1993 was opposed by large sectors of the civil society, and not supported by the armed forces, indicating that progress had been made in the 8 years since the end of the military regime. Progress also was made by the armed forces and the governments after 1986, but particularly those of Ramiro de Leon Carpio, 1993-1996, and Alvaro Arzu, from January 1996 until the present. A central element in the peace agreement, signed on 29 December 1996, was the stated goal of civilian control of the armed forces. The challenge is to institutionalize the structures and processes whereby democratically elected civilians control the armed forces as a part of the state, rather than the latter usurping the state itself. These are the issues that CCMR's programs are designed to address.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA484129
Entities
People
- Thomas C. Bruneau
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School