The strategic autonomy and the military technology fetishism in the periphery of the international system

Abstract

We seek to identify the factors that explain the nature of the demand for military technology in peripheral countries and how this technology relates to the strategic autonomy sought by these countries. Our hypothesis is that military procurement in peripheral countries is guided by the fetishism of technology - attribution of the meaning of military superiority to modern military technology -, which mystifies the mentalities and social relations embodied in technologies, reinforcing patterns of dependency. To identify external and internal elements regarding the demand for military technology practiced in peripheral countries, we will analyze the systemic and domestic levels of analysis. At the systemic level, we will study the historical dynamics and the international supply of military technology current configuration. At the domestic level, we will discuss the type of demand for military technology, as well as its relation to the historical formation of the military organization and the development of the defense industry. To cover this aspect we will focus geographically on the South America countries, specifically from the years 2000 until recently. We will use various sources such as databases, official documents, speeches, as well as theses and dissertations produced in the context of military educational institutions of South American countries. (AU)