Kristina Mani
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International engagement
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This chapter examines the expansion of Chile’s international engagement, most notably peacekeeping, the military’s corresponding adoption of new roles, and how internationalisation has impacted military and civil-military relations more broadly. It argues that Chile’s internationalism is a product not only of the historical global moment or its transition to democracy but a result of the special responsibility the state and its armed forces bear in the wake of the military dictatorship. Explaining Chile’s turn to international engagement requires recognition of enabling conditions that set the stage for this shift. These include the transnational changes that took place at the end of the Cold War in the historical moment of Chile’s transition to democracy, as well as the country’s peculiar history during the military dictatorship years. The chapter examines the expansion since the 2000s of international missions in the areas of peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and disaster management, and explores recent debates over the costs and benefits of contributing to these. The impact of the military’s international engagement is evaluated as well as the merits of peacekeeping missions and the impact of other missions for the resilience of democratic practices at home. The chapter concludes that international engagement has been overwhelmingly beneficial to the evolution of civilian control and therefore to Chile’s democratic development, although Chile seems to have reached saturation point and its civilian leaders will need to consider carefully what kind of international engagement can best maintain what has been achieved so far.

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Governing the military

The armed forces under democracy in Chile

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