Internal security as a battlefield of the "revolutionary war": counterinsurgency and national defense in the political and military fields in Argentina (1963-1970)

Abstract

The article analyzes the development of a field of ideas on counterinsurgency thinking applied to the sphere of internal security in Argentina, between 1963 and 1970. This field was shared by both military and civil-political actors. During the constitutional government of Arturo Illia (1963–1966) and the de facto presidency of General Juan Carlos Onganía (1966–1970), a series of security and internal repression measures were established. These served as legal–operational, and doctrinal bases for the intervention of the Armed Forces -primarily the Army- for the restoration of public order in the case of a serious menace caused by a “subversive enemy”. The work shows the circulation of notions from Argentine military field to politicians, and its influence on the development of the defense rules under Illia and Onganía administrations. Finally, this work problematizes the traditional division between politicians and military as polar actors during the sixties, and stresses continuities of certain authoritarian discourses beyond the traditional division between democracy and dictatorship.