Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela

“Students and policy makers will applaud the arrival of this splendid book. . . . The book should have a prominent place in Latin American courses and should be mined for policy wisdom in every capital in the hemisphere.” — Americas

“This book makes excellent reading for scholars interested in Venezuelan politics, civil-military relations in new and fragile democracies, and democratic transitions and deconsolidations. It is excellently written and organized.” — Latin American Politics and Society

“[Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela] contributes substantially to the general discussion of how to establish civilian control over the armed forces. Perhaps most important is Trinkunas’s emphasis on the importance of competent civilian control over such critical areas as military organization and roles.” — Political Science Quarterly

“Venezuela is a very important case for the study of the connections between civilian control and democracy: it often has gone in directions different from most countries in the region and, in the past six decades, has displayed significant variation in civil-military relations. Trinkunas fills an important gap by addressing this case insightfully, with a fresh look and a new concept.” — Felipe Agüero, University of Miami

“Trinkunas significantly advances our understanding of Venezuelan democracy through a sophisticated and absorbing analysis of that nation’s civil-military relations. With theory as his guide, he demonstrates how politicians' strategic choices about the military have had lasting consequences for Venezuela’s entire political system.” — David Pion-Berlin, University of California, Riverside