Objective/context:

South America has undergone a process of democratization and progressive reduction of inter-state disputes since the 1980s and 1990s. The disappearance of threats traditionally faced by several states in the region, or their management within the framework of different conflict resolution mechanisms, has led to an unintended effect known as threat deficit, a strategic scenario in which the external threat perception of a State disappears or is considerably weakened. The literature argues that border conflict resolution and democratization are associated with a reduction in the size of military budget and organization.

Methodology:

The article is an exploratory analysis that compares the cases of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela in the period 1981-2020 and identifies how the so-called policy of bases has impacted the military organization measured in terms of the number of military bases.

Conclusions:

In a context of democratization and a marked reduction of inter-state conflict in South America, the number of bases has not only been maintained but, in most cases, increased.

Originality:

No previous works have analyzed this issue for the South American region.