Synopses & Reviews
Do Third World countries benefit from having large militaries, or does this impede their development? Kirk Bowman uses statistical analysis to demonstrate that militarization has had a particularly malignant impact in this region. For his quantitative comparison he draws on longitudinal data for a sample of 76 developing countries and for 18 Latin American nations.
To illuminate the causal mechanisms at work, Bowman offers a detailed comparison of Costa Rica and Honduras between 1948 and 1998. The case studies not only serve to bolster his general argument about the harmful effects of militarization but also provide many new insights into the processes of democratic consolidation and economic transformation in these two Central American countries.
About the Author
Kirk S. Bowman is Assistant Professor at The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Table of Contents
ContentsPart I: Introduction
1. Militarization and Development: The Research Question and the Research Design
2. Militarization: The Causal Variable, the Literature, and the Theory
Part II: Bullets vs. Ballots: Militarization and Democracy
3. Taming the Tiger: A Quantitative Analysis of Militarization and Democracy in Latin America
4. When Ballots Trump Bullets: Demilitarization and Democratic Consolidation in Costa Rica
5. When Bullets Trump Ballots: Militarization and Democratic Collapse in Honduras
Part III: Guns vs. Butter: Militarization, Economic Growth, and Equity
6. Guns vs. Butter: A Quantitative Analysis of Militarization and Material Development
7. Escaping the Lost Decade: Militarization and Economic Growth in Costa Rica and Honduras
PART IV: Summation
8. Conclusion