Militarization, Democracy, and Development - by Kirk S Bowman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"Although at times it requires stopping to think about how everything relates back to the hypothesis, it is also refreshing to read an author who so obviously has mastered the literature, dived headfirst into archives, and cares deeply about the argument itself."

--Gregory Weeks Latin American Studies

"Bowman challenges the time-worn thesis that military buildup is good for growth by showing that militarization has had negative consequences on democracy, growth, and equity in Latin America. Is Bowman insinuating that if a country wants to grow, build democracy, and restore equity, it should abolish the armed forces? This is indeed a tantalizingly provocative thesis. . . . Bowman has written the most lucid yet controversial and polemic book on the military--must reading for anyone interested in this topic."

--E. Pang Choice

"Combining many different types of analysis, Militarization, Democracy, and Development is a considerable accomplishment.

Bowman grapples with theoretically important issues, presents skillfully conducted and original empirical work, and provides a clear explanation for disparate patterns of political development in Cold War Central America. This book will not end the debates about the causal relationships it explores, but it is a solid contribution to them."

--Anthony W. Pereira Perspectives on Politics

"Recent political science literature has produced few works that are as compelling and important as Kirk Bowman's Militarization, Democracy, and Development. Bowman's pathbreaking work makes significant contributions to important debates in the areas of social science methodology, the role of the military in Latin America, and the nature of Costa Rican and Honduran political development. Its magnificent research design and jargon-free presentation should make this book required reading in any advanced course dealing with Latin American politics or research methodology. . . . This beautifully organized and crafted work is social science at its best."

--Donald Share The Americas

"This book is the best analysis of the relationship between militarization and development in modern Latin America ever published. . . . His work offers a model of how to combine quantitative and qualitative research, illustrating their different but complementary strengths. It also significantly advances our understanding of the effects of militarization, the political history of Costa Rica and Honduras, and the importance of historical events in promoting or hindering development. All told this excellent book deserves to be read by a wide spectrum of scholars in the field of macrosociology."

--James Mahoney American Journal of Sociology

"This book comes at a particularly appropriate moment, one in which the United States is rethinking its unconditional support for democratic regimes and may be moving toward support for almost any regime that will join it in its war against the terrorists. Bowman shows that this may prove to be a Faustian bargain, one with serious long-term consequences for development in the Third World. The quantitative and qualitative evidence in this work is very persuasive and should be troubling for those who support the view that 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"

--Mitchell A. Seligson, University of Pittsburgh

About the Author

Kirk S. Bowman is Assistant Professor at The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology.