The danger is that if civilian leaders are appointed, the military will either topple or manipulate them. For this reason, the transformation of Venezuelan civil-military relations in both form and substance is critical to long-term democratic stability. It will require moving away from the party-controlled military of the present—but also from the civil-military relations of the pre-Chavista era that preceded it.
The United States has seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is currently detained in New York, and everything about the country’s political future is in question. The decisive variable is Venezuela’s armed forces. Whoever winds up in charge of post-Chávez Venezuela, the military will almost certainly remain politically active.
The United States has seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is currently detained in New York, and everything about the country’s political future is in question. The decisive variable is Venezuela’s armed forces. Whoever winds up in charge of post-Chávez Venezuela, the military will almost certainly remain politically active.
The danger is that if civilian leaders are appointed, the military will either topple or manipulate them. For this reason, the transformation of Venezuelan civil-military relations in both form and substance is critical to long-term democratic stability. It will require moving away from the party-controlled military of the present—but also from the civil-military relations of the pre-Chavista era that preceded it.
Aside from reporting of a CIA mole within Maduro’s security detail, the poor performance of Venezuela’s military forces throughout the Jan.
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