User talk:StudentMuu/sandbox

Creation and Evolution

Political scientists have pointed out the fragile conditions of several military dictatorships. In terms of the outbreak of the military dictatorship, Barbara Geddes emphasises the role of exogenous shocks, such as economic crises, as a factor which influences regime survival [1]. Suggesting that military leaderships is less unified than, for instance, a one-party dictatorship, economic crises might heavily undermine the chances of survival for a military dictatorship. Geddes labels these as ‘’splits in the officer corps’’ caused by exogenous shocks[2]. A famous line regarding the ousting of military dictatorships was coined by Nordlinger, stating that military regimes have ‘’life after democracy’’ [3]. It refers to the traditional role of the military which allows it still to exist even if it loses its authoritarian powers.

Similarly, Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman pointed out that crises in the economy decrease loyalty in the military-political elite due to the decrease of material benefits [4]. In essence, this refers to the extent to which military leadership can afford allocating wages and other benefits to their subjects. However, they also noted that there are exceptions, such as the case of Pinochet in Chile in which democratization was preceded by economic growth. Here, the military regime came to an end following several years of economic growth.

Justification

Jennifer Gandhi proposes three distinctive developments for military dictatorships[1]. First, as militaries professionalize, a distinctive group emerges. An example of this is the caudillos in Latin America. Second, the military often maintains the right to supervise political decision making and to guide the process. However, rarely it makes changes directly to the system, instead allowing professional politicians to maintain some form of independence. Third, militaries often maintain a status of ‘’providing for its own’’[2]. This might suggest that they uphold strong admiration from the ordinary citizens.