Abstract

In the 1970s, military takeovers of the Chilean and Argentine governments resulted in brutal crackdowns against the civilian populations, leaving thousands of people dead or disappeared. Popular uprisings in both countries utilized diverse nonviolent tactics to resist the military regimes. Defection of elites from the military, church, and media differed between the two cases, and knowledge of these defections is helpful in understanding mechanisms for transitioning back to democracy. This investigation is based on two hypotheses: that social movements which used diverse tactics would achieve regime change faster than those which used fewer tactics, and that the defection of military and economic elites would bring about regime change more rapidly than the defection of religious and media elites. While the findings are not sufficient to support the first hypothesis, this study reveals that the defection of military elites directly correlates with the fall of the dictatorship.

Advisor

Haider, Erum

Second Advisor

Garonzik, Rebecca

Department

Political Science; Spanish

Disciplines

Comparative Politics | Latin American Studies | Spanish Linguistics | Spanish Literature

Keywords

Chile, Argentina, tactic diversification, nonviolence, elite defection, resistance

Publication Date

2021

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2021 Alyxandra D. Claycomb