In spite of the reestablishment of civilian democracy in Ecuador and Peru, military government continues to be the norm in Latin America. In recent years, many scholars have examined the rise of military regimes in the region in order to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of civil-military relations. Few analysts, however, have studied civil-military relations in the handful of nations where civilian government has persisted. The purpose of this analysis is, therefore, to contribute to a broader understanding of Latin American military behavior by attempting to explain the Colombian armed forces’ atypical obedience to civilian authority.

The pattern of Latin American regional cooperation has changed greatly during the past five years. New organizations, such as SELA (Latin American Economic System) and OLADE (Latin American Energy Organization), have been formed, while other groups, such as CACM (Central American Common Market), have become moribund. These changes in regional organizations are primarily the result of changes occurring in the developmental orientations and governmental capabilities of the member governments. In this study, two quite different organizations, the Andean Pact and the Amazon Pact, are examined to shed light on the dynamics of contemporary Latin American international relations and to explore new theoretical approaches in the study of regional cooperation schemes.

Economic development—defined by growth of GNP per capita—among the poor countries of the world during the last 25 years has been higher than in almost any other period in mankind's history. Although this growth might have not been as high as that expected by some policy makers, the 1950-1975 period shows an overall improvement over the recent past. In spite of this apparent surge in growth, many policy makers and social scientists have shown disappointment and dismay at some characteristics of the recent increases in GNP (Morawetz, 1977).