Developmental Tension and Political Instability: Testing Some Hypotheses Concerning Latin America

Based on census-type data, this article attempts to relate political instability to some social and economic development variables. Starting with some theoretical premises set forth by the sociology of development, it elaborates and tests a system of hypotheses, whose main lines point to the existence ofa vicious circle of political instability in Latin America. Besides poilitical instability, it considers the following variables: percentage of military expenditures; rates of economic growth; social structure; and social indecision. Discussing some lines of policy implication, it arrives at the conclusion that the best way of breaking the vicious circle of political instability would be a resolute policy of development, which should include three elements : 1 ) opening new opportunities for social mobility; 2) decreasing the expenditure for military purposes; and 3) diversifying the roles of the military, by using them for purposes of development