Defiant again
indigenous peoples and Latin American security
Description:... This paper explores the complex nexus of security issues that the governments of Latin America and the indigenous communities of the region face at the end of the 20th century. A better understanding of security issues from the perspective of indigenous communities should enable policymakers in the United States to estimate more accurately how U.S. policy plays a role in the aggravation or resolution of interethnic conflict in Latin America. Although the national contexts of indigenous-state relations differ markedly throughout the hemisphere, relevant issues of national security are strikingly similar-maintenance of international borders, eradication and interdiction of drugs, suppression of aimed insurgencies, and containment of rural unrest. National governments, state armed forces, and indigenous peoples, however, all have different conceptions of the meaning of 'national security.' Governments tend to view security in terms of sovereignty: protecting the integrity of international boundaries, containing social conflict manifested in rural violence or urban riots, monopolizing the means of legitimate force, protecting natural resources, and encouraging economic development. The Latin American military tends to view security as a mission to defend the nation from either external attack or internal subversion. Thus the relationship between the military and indigenous peoples varies, depending on the definition of the military's security mission, which may include wiping out internal subversion, maintaining public safety, or promoting economic development.
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