Security in Latin America: A Critical Perspective from Chile
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UNISCI Discussion Papers, October 2008
John Griffiths Spielman
The State Consolidation Process (PCE) can be defined as the process in which a state strengthens its institutions and structure to generate broad social consensus, the source of its power, in order to pursue its most relevant objectives as a nation-state, to meet its primary demands for material and human development, well-being, and the security of its citizens. This is the fundamental element in the approach of this article, as the level of its development determines the extent to which destabilizing internal factors can influence security; a higher level of PCE reduces this impact. However, the article’s diagnosis is that at the regional level, the power of the state according to its PCE is too weak to control internal elements such as drug trafficking groups; therefore, the challenge for Latin America is to strengthen the state apparatus to limit the security challenges posed by this lack of control.
