South American Long Peace

Paraguayan troops in 1932 during the Chaco War, the last large interstate war in South America.

Signatory and member states of the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement (Pact of Bogotá) which was signied in 1948 and which is part of the legal framework of the Organization of American States (OAS). Color legend:

  States which have ratified the treaty

  States which have signed but not ratified the treaty

  States which have neither signed nor ratified the treaty

  States which have ratified the treaty but denounced its membership

The South American long peace (also referred to as the Latin American long peace) is a term used in international relations and history to describe the relative absence of large-scale interstate war in South America since the end of the Chaco War in 1935. While the region have high levels of internal conflict, coups d'état, and organised crime, it has remained an anomaly in global security studies for its persistent lack of major conventional wars between sovereign states. The region, however, continues to showcase high levels of intra-state violence despite the absence of war among states. In that sense it is not a peaceful region. ^{[1] [ page needed ]}

The concept emerged as a regional parallel to John Lewis Gaddis's "Long Peace" (the period of stability between great powers during the Cold War). Scholars such as Nicolás Terradas and Arie Kacowicz argue that South America constitutes a "zone of peace" or a "security community" in which the use of force to settle disputes has become increasingly rare. ^[2] The contrast is clear when comparing South America with the more war-prone continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. ^[3]

The "long peace" is usually dated from 1935 to the present. Although the region has witnessed militarised crises (such as the 1981 Paquisha War or the 1995 Cenepa War), these are viewed as low-intensity exceptions that did not escalate into full-scale war or destabilised the regional order. ^[4] According to Kalevi Holsti the Falklands War of 1982 against the United Kingdom should not be counted as it was fought against a non-South American power. ^[5]

Period prior to the long peace

See also: South American territorial disputes

The period prior to 1935 and in particular that of the 19th century has been described by scholars as one of balkanisation in South America as most of the then newly formed states found themselves in international war repeatedly through the century. ^[6] States were often weak, with Argentina only comming into being as propper nation in 1860, and the weakness of Bolivia and Ecuador attracted foreing interference. ^{[7] [8]}

The 19th century saw many border disputes in South America. As most states based their border claims on the uti possidetis iuris a source of conflict was the poorly mapped or vagueness of borders inherited forn the Spanish Portuguese colonial eras. ^[8] This was particularly true for much of Atacama Desert, Patagonia and the Amazon and Orinoco basins. ^{[9] [8]} Brazil however tended to apply a different criterion claiming de facto occupation of a territory as basis of claims. ^[8]

In 1915 South America's three main regional powers; Argentina, Brazil and Chile signed the ABC Pact to establish the principles of non-aggression, consultation and arbitration in dispute resultion.

Conceptualizations of peace

Scholarship on the South American long peace have framed thet stability of peace in South America in different approaches. Traditional views, such as those by Kalevi Holsti, describe South America as a "non-war zone" or a "negative peace," where war is absent but the underlying causes of conflict (border disputes, ideological rivalries) remain unresolved. ^[10] Jorge Battaglino proposes that South America occupies a "hybrid peace" category. ^[10] In this state, states may still experience militarised crises and engage in arms races, yet they possess robust diplomatic mechanisms (such as UNASUR) that prevent these tensions from erupting into full-scale war. ^[10]

A central theme in the literature is the "Latin American paradox"—the coexistence of interstate peace with high levels of intrastate violence. Sabine Kurtenbach notes that while states do not fight each other, the region remains one of the most violent in the world due to homicides, social exclusion, and weak state institutions. ^{[11] [2] [12]}

Proposed causes

Scholars have proposed several theories to explain why South American states have avoided major wars:

• 1. The "Longer Peace" Thesis (1935–1995): Felix Gonzalez argues that a combination of geographic isolation, lack of "great power" ambitions, and a shared diplomatic culture has sustained peace for over half a century. ^[4]
• 2. Shared Identity and Norms: Terradas highlights the role of a diplomatic culture and legalistic traditions (such as uti possidetis ) that prioritize sovereignty and territorial integrity over expansionism. ^[2]
• 3. Institutional Constraint: The proliferation of regional organizations has provided forums for mediation, reducing the likelihood of miscalculation during crises. ^[10]
• 4. Internal Focus: Some argue that South American militaries have historically been more concerned with internal security and regime maintenance (internal enemies) than with external conquest. ^[12]

Limits and criticism

Critics of the "long peace" narrative, such as Sabine Kurtenbach, argue that a "minimalist" definition of peace –that is merely the absence of interstate war– ignores the structural violence and "non-war violence" that is common in the region. In this view, the "long peace" may be a facade that hides state failure to protect citizens from internal threats, organised crime, and systemic human rights abuses. ^[12]

The long peace has not hindered international disputes in the region to attract military involvement. ^{[10] [11]}

Last major war by country

The following is a list of the last war with at least 1000 casualties fought by each country in South America against a South American country.

Country	Conflict	End date	Fought against	Result
Argentina	Paraguayan War	1870	Paraguay	Military victory: Machaín-Irigoyen Treaty
Bolivia	Chaco War	1935	Paraguay	Military defeat: Bolivia–Paraguay Treaty of 1938
Brazil	Paraguayan War	1870	Paraguay	Military victory: Loizaga–Cotegipe Treaty
Chile	War of the Pacific	1884	Bolivia   Peru	Military victory: Treaty of Ancón Treaty of Valparaíso
Colombia	Ecuadorian–Colombian War [13]	1863	Ecuador	Military victory: Pinsaqui Treaty
Ecuador	Ecuadorian–Colombian War [13]	1863	Colombia	Military defeat: Pinsaqui Treaty
Guyana	Never been at war with a S.A. country	-	-	-
Paraguay	Chaco War	1935	Bolivia	Military victory: Bolivia–Paraguay Treaty of 1938
Peru	War of the Pacific	1883	Chile	Military defeat: Treaty of Ancón
Suriname	Never been at war with a S.A. country	-	-	-
Uruguay	Paraguayan War	1870	Paraguay	Military victory: Decoud-Kubly Treaty
Venezuela	Never been at war with a S.A. country	-	-	-

See also

• American Treaty on Pacific Settlement
• 1978 Argentina–Chile crisis
• 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis
• 2023–2024 Guyana–Venezuela crisis
• America's Backyard
• Latin American integration
• Maximum neighbor hypothesis
• Narcoterrorism
• Pan-Americanism
• South American dreadnought race
• United States involvement in regime change in Latin America

References

1. Mares, D. R. (2001). Violent peace: Militarized interstate bargaining in Latin America. Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/mare11186.
2. Terradas, Nicolás (2021). "The Latin American Long Peace". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies . doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.587. ISBN   9780190846626.
3. Holsti 1996, p. 155.
4. Gonzalez, F. E. M. (1998). The longer peace in South America, 1935-1995: the analysis and explanation of its causes and conditions (PhD thesis). Columbia University.
5. Holsti 1996, p. 154.
6. Bértola, Luis; Williamson, Jeffrey G. (2003-05-31). Globalization in Latin America before 1940 (Report).
7. Holsti 1996, p. 152.
8. Holsti 1996, p. 153.
9. Burr, Robert N. (1965). By Reason Or Force: Chile and the Balancing of Power in South America, 1830-1905. Berkeley: University of California Press.
10. Battaglino, J. M. (2012). "The coexistence of peace and conflict in South America: toward a new conceptualization of types of peace". Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional . 55 (2): 131–151. doi:10.1590/S0034-73292012000200008.
11. Franchi, Tássio; Ferreira Glaser Migon, Eduardo Xavier; Jiménez Villarreal, Roberto Xavier (2017). "Taxonomy of interstate conflicts: is South America a peaceful region?". Brazilian Political Science Review . 2 (11). doi: 10.1590/1981-3821201700020008 . ISSN   1981-3821.
12. Kurtenbach, Sabine (2019). "The limits of peace in Latin America". Peacebuilding. 7 (3): 283–296. doi:10.1080/21647259.2019.1618518.
13. Schenoni, Luis L. (2024). Bringing War Back In: Victory, Defeat, and the State in Nineteenth-Century Latin America. Cambridge University Press. p. 63. ISBN   9781009442145.

Bibliography

• Bulcourf, Pablo; López Chorne, Juan; Sasso Videla, Franco (2025). Romero Tarin, Adela (ed.). A Comparative Historical Study of Peacekeeping Actions. Public Policy and Research in Latin Americ. pp. 129–158.
• Holsti, Kalevi J. (1996). The State, War and the State of War. Cambridge Studies in International Relations. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511628306. ISBN   978-0-511-62830-6. S2CID   150457372.
• Mares, D. R. (2015). "Interstate security issues in Latin America". In Domínguez, J. I.; Covarrubias, A. (eds.). Routledge handbook of Latin American in the world. pp. 420–433.