Why can cooperation and conflict coexist? The causes of hybrid security dynamics in Latin America

• Grant number: 22/15980-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: January 21, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Antonio Duarte Villa
• Grantee: Thales Leonardo de Carvalho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Over the last decades, an increasing number of defense cooperation initiatives have taken place in Latin America. However, contrary to what is discussed by the International Relations literature, these initiatives coexisted with crises and the militarization of interstate disputes in a dynamic called "hybrid security". This project intends to advance the understanding of these dynamics by explaining their causes. At the same time, it contributes to comprehending the causes of defense cooperation and the militarization of interstate disputes in the region. We test two hypotheses: security and defense cooperation initiatives did not cease the hypothesis of militarizing interstate disputes in Latin America (1) because there is a fragile equilibrium between cooperating and non-militarizing disputes, and (2) because this kind of cooperation was not able to solve the causes of interstate militarization. We test these hypotheses by using a multimethod research design, using data for all Latin American states from the Cold War to 2022, and integrating qualitative and quantitative tools, searching to understand regional patterns and causal mechanisms. (AU)