Description:
David R. Mares argues that the key factors influencing political leaders in all types of polities are the costs to their constituencies of using force and whether the leader can survive their displeasure if the costs exceed what they are willing to pay. Violent Peace proposes a conceptual scheme for analyzing militarized conflict and supports this framework with evidence from the history of Latin America.
Review Quotes: A brilliant synthesis of theory and historical case studies that characterized the ' violent peace of Latin America, this book advances the study of inter-American security to a new level of sophistication. It should be required reading among senior diplomatic and military officials and university courses on inter-American relations.