Summary
Local Perspectives on Military Reorganization, Economic Restructuring
and Daily Life
The theme of this advanced seminar, "Local Perspectives on
Military Reorganization, Economic Restructuring and Everyday Life" emerged
over a conversation between co-chairs Linda Green and Lesley Gill
concerning the transition of countries moving from brutal dictatorships,
civil wars, and military repression to democracy, free market policy,
and popular elections. "Few of these transitions are as seamless
as they have been portrayed," observed Gill, reflecting on her
research in Bolivia, and Green's work in Guatamala.
The work of the late Eric Wolf, the 1988 J. I. Staley
Prize winner who emphasized the importance of examining political economies through
the lens of local and global social relationships that are shaped by power and
inequality, inspired the co-chairs to question the failure of political scientists
and policymakers to consider how broad changes such as demilitarization and economic
restructuring affects daily life. "With few exceptions, the complex relationship
between a country's military apparatus and ordinary people has not received sufficient
attention. Similarly, the ways that military values and beliefs permeate social
relationships and institutions require more exploration," explained Gill. "We
used Wolf's perspective as our analytic departure point, as well as the iconoclastic
work of Cynthia Enloe," one of the seminar participants.
Initially, three central problems were identified for
the participants' consideration. First, how has the tension between the legitimate
use of military power by the state and the social "disorder" created
by structural adjustment programs shaped military reorganization? Second, how
is the changing nature of military conscription reworking the relationship between
states and citizens, and among citizens of different race, class, gender, and
ethnic backgrounds? And third, in the aftermath of military repression and civil
war, how have severe unemployment, the erosion of social services, and endemic
racism contributed to an increase in violent activities by ordinary people against
each other?
As the seminar evolved, reflected Green, "we began
to get at the contradictions and tensions in this seemingly straightforward process.
A question kept coming up in our discussions: Why has it been so difficult for
many countries to demilitarize, even after truth commissions and peace accords
are put in place?"
Some answers were revealed as the seminar participants
scrutinized ordinary people's lives in the transitioning countries of Africa,
the Caribbean, and Central and South America, where both civil strife and structural
adjustment policies figure prominently in social life. When demilitarization
is not accompanied by plans to address poverty, for instance, men released from
military service often turn to delinquent activity such as the arms trade to
generate income. In turn, as the social and economic order previously kept by
military rule remains largely unchanged in post-war settings, citizens may begin
to arm themselves, creating an actual 're-militarization' in the fabric of daily
life.
Another issue that surfaced over the course of the seminar
included the questionable consequences of peace accords and truth commissions,
which sometimes avoid challenging impunity allowing the "intellectual authors
of repression to remain in place," while ostensibly giving voice to those
who suffered. In addition, "most peace accords do not address the fundamental
paradox between the ideals of a free society's 'equality of participation' and
the growing disparity between the rich and poor, or the general intensification
of poverty," commented Green.
"We were seeking to understand how social life
is changing in the aftermath of military repression in ways that are not necessarily
leading to democracy and demilitarization," Green continued. This process
is further complicated by the new tensions generated by free-market reforms,
such influences as the International Monetary Fund, and the privatizing of health
care and education.
The process of successful demilitarization, it was agreed,
would necessarily accentuate social and economic justice along with the traditional
approaches.
