1
The end of the Cold War introduced important transformations in both domestic and
international politics. In light of these changes in the international order several Eastern
European and Latin American countries have intensified their participation in international
security institutions by incorporating their armed forces into collective defense organizations
(such as NATO) and collective security institutions (such as the UN peace missions). Countries
like Bulgaria began to participate in joint operations with other NATO-members, while states like
Argentina, Brazil and Chile sent large military contingents to UN peace missions. These shifts in
foreign policy occurred while these countries experienced processes of democratization. In
Eastern Europe, countries transited from party rule to democratic civilian control of the military;
while in Latin America the military institutions returned to the barracks after decades of
authoritarian-military rule.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of international security institutions on
civil-military relations in democratizing states and to analyze why engagement in such
institutions has had unintended effects in different countries and regions. In particular, our
project explores how involvement in international security institutions may have consequences
that are not always perceived or intended by policy-makers in the developing world. In so doing,
we attempt to identify linkages between comparative politics and international relations,
particularly in the realm of civil-military relations. First, we are interested in examining how
international factors can affect civil-military relations in democratizing states. We follow, then,
the theoretical insights of the “second image reversed” debate.
1
Second, this project addresses
the academic debate about the independent causal power of international institutions in domestic
politics. It does so by evaluating how engagement in security institutions can transform civil-
military relations via unintended effects. In so doing, we wish to elaborate on Robert Jervis’
insights about systems effects and their complexity in political life.
2
We attempt to identify
examples in Eastern Europe and Latin America where unexpected consequences have been
Convention