South America’s military governments during the Cold War: a discussion of inter-state warfare

Abstract

During the Cold War, dozens of military governments existed in South America. Some lasted only days or weeks, while others lasted years and even decades. The human rights abuses carried out by these military governments have been well analysed, like Argentina’s Dirty War. However, an interesting fact about this period tends to be ignored: inter-state warfare between South American states, even during military governments, was very scarce. The Falklands / Malvinas war is the only case of a South American military government, Argentina, beginning a war against another state, the United Kingdom. There were other incidents that could have caused inter-state warfare during this era, but war was avoided. The only other inter-state war during the Cold War in South America happened in 1981 between Ecuador and Peru, both being under civilian rule. There were (and still are) reasons for South American states to attack one another, particularly to regain lost or disputed territory; however, as this essay demonstrates, war was almost non-existent. This essay will discuss why South American military governments did not attack their neighbours during this turbulent period.