THINK PIECE 04 Summary • organizations have invested in institutions to limit the use of force at the interna ­tional level. However, national issues and growing ideological differences lead to divergent perceptions of the most impor ­tant threats and how to deal with them. • risks of inter-state conflict and use of force in the region is very low. The main issues re ­garding the use of force seem to be limited to the national levels, even in the cases of organized crime, and other related prob ­lems. • are two main clusters of problems in domestic security which are associated with(i) state actors( securitization& mil­itarization, misuse of force, lack of monopoly of force in certain areas) and(ii) non-state violent actors(»privatization« of force, state capture by organized crime, anti-state violence). • discussions of the monop ­oly on the use of force in the re ­gion must also address three new issues:(i) the rise of authoritarian governments,(ii) rising defense spending(iii) ideological rivalries. 1 Security Perspectives in Latin America Francine Jácome An analysis of the monopoly on the use of force in Latin America must take into account two levels: the international, vis-à-vis a neigh ­bor, a country within the region, or an external actor, and the domes ­tic level. Different issues must be taken into account in each. The international use of force is highly unlikely in Latin America at present, although there are still unresolved border disputes. 1 While David Mares has referred to an»illusion of peace,« the last military confrontation was in 1995 between Ecuador and Peru, which means that there have been no inter-state armed conflicts for twenty years. Likewise, the need for the use of force in response to threats from an external country are also highly unlikely. However, the ALBA(Boli ­varian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas) has revived the tra ­ditional notion that its members face an external threat and there ­fore need to defend themselves against an external enemy, namely the United States. 2 Special attention has been given to the need to defend its natural resources. Current political tensions between the United States and Venezuela have highlighted this idea, and Caracas has accused Washington of promoting intervention and even of plan ­ning an invasion. The OAS(Organization of American States) and other sub-regional organizations have invested in developing institutions to limit the use of force at the international level. In the early 2000s, the OAS devel ­oped new security institutions such as the Committee on Hemispheric Security and the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, arguing that the Americas were facing new threats including drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime. However, the OAS has been unable to design and structure an effective system for hemispheric security and conflict resolution. 3 Within this framework, sub-regional organizations have become increasingly important in defining security policies. However, their 1 The most relevant are: Nicaragua/Costa Rica; Bolivia/Chile; Dominican Republic/Haiti; Argentina/United Kingdom; Venezuela/Guyana, and Venezuela/Colombia. 2 ALBA depends mainly on Venezuelan oil revenues. Its most important members are Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. A number of small Ca ­ribbean states also participate, but not in its defense institutions. 3 Pablo Celi,»Dilemas y perspectivas de la autonomía estratégica de Suramericana en Seguridad y Defensa,« in Anuario 2014 de la Seguridad Regional en América Latina y el Caribe, ed. Catalina Niño(Programa de Cooperación en Seguridad Regional-FES, 2014).