Biopolitics, youth and the military in south American countries: an analysis of conscription as an institution from the perspective of political philosophy

Abstract

The countries of the Latin American region differ in their positions on compulsory military service. While some do not impose it, others on the contrary consider it necessary. In some of the latter, discontent and rejection of the measure might even be manifested in marches and riots. The purpose of this article is to analyze conscription as an institution by reviewing the academic literature and secondary sources concerning the topic, to openly identify the categories that later were axially coded to relate what was found. This is that there´s a tendency to voluntarism in contraposition to the compulsory military service. The author understands that maintaining the mandatory military service responds to dynamics of the exercise of power over the population.