Regional peace in Latin America

a multifaceted explanation

Abstract

Since the 19th century, Latin America has progressively
become a zone of peace. Between 1800 and 2007, the region has
been affected by only fourteen inter-state wars. In addition,
the frequency of inter-state wars has rapidly declined over the
decades, generating a consolidated zone of peace. This paper
examines the reasons behind regional peace in Latin America,
reviewing the main theories of war and peace and assessing
their validity in explaining the absence of inter-state wars
in the region. The study finds that each one of the theories
considered addresses only a single aspect of this phenomenon.
Based on that, a multifaceted explanation of regional peace in
Latin America is proposed, combining different theories to
provide a more complete analysis of the phenomenon. This
explanation presents peace in Latina America as the result
of two interacting elements: countries’ satisfaction with their
borders and the presence of weak states in the region. While
recognizing that political regimes can influence countries’
war-proneness (and that democratic regimes tend to be less
war-prone than authoritarian regimes), this study shows that
democracy is not the ultimate cause of regional peace in Latin
America. Indeed, the presence of authoritarian regimes in the
region did not hinder the creation of a zone of peace between
the 19th and 20th century. However, the study highlights that
the spread of democracy in the region helped consolidating
the zone of peace and determined its evolution from mere
absence of war to institutionalized security community