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Still Training to Torture? US Training of Latin American Military Forces

Blakeley, Ruth (2006) Still Training to Torture? US Training of Latin American Military Forces. Third World Quarterly, 27 (8). pp. 1439-1461. ISSN 0143-6597. (doi:10.1080/01436590601027289) (KAR id:1401)

Abstract

It is widely assumed that the School of the Americas (SOA), a US training school for Latin American military forces, advocated repression during the Cold War. To demonstrate this, previous research has tended to focus on establishing correlations between training and specific human rights abuses by individuals trained at SOA. A stronger case can be made through detailed analysis of SOA training manuals within the context of US foreign policy towards the global South. Public protest led to SOA's re-launch in 2001. Most protestors assume that this change was purely cosmetic. Based on extensive fieldwork, I argue that changes were genuine, and the School now has a commendable human rights programme. This is in contrast to most US military training, domestic and foreign, which remains secretive and devoid of adequate human rights instruction. The paper argues that a resurgence of support for repression since 9/11 undermines progress at the School.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/01436590601027289
Uncontrolled keywords: School of Americas, WHINSEC, foreign military training, repression, human rights
Subjects: J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Ruth Blakeley
Date Deposited: 19 Dec 2007 17:43 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:40 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/1401 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Blakeley, Ruth.

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