Often people in everyday life or in the media hear the word "junta". What it is? What does this concept mean? Let's try to figure it out. This term is associated with Latin America. This is a concept such as the "junta". In translation, the word refers to “united” or “connected”. The power of the junta is a kind of authoritarian political regime, a military-bureaucratic dictatorship established as a result of a military coup and administering the state in a dictatorial way, as well as through terror. To understand the essence of this regime, you must first understand what a military form of dictatorship is.
Military dictatorship
Military dictatorship is a form of government, in which the military have almost absolute power . They usually overthrow the current government through a coup. This form is similar, but not identical to stratocracy. Under the latter country, military ranks directly rule. Like every type of dictatorship, this form can be both official and unofficial. Many dictators, like Manuel Noriega in Panama, had to obey the civilian government, but this is only nominal. Despite the structure of the regime based on force methods, this is still not quite a stratocracy. Any screen did exist. There are also mixed types of dictatorial governance, in which military officials have a very serious influence on the government, but they do not control the situation individually. Typical military dictatorships in Latin America, as a rule, represented precisely the junta.
Junta - what is it?
This term was spread thanks to military regimes in Latin American countries. In Soviet political science, the junta meant the power of reactionary military groups in a number of capitalist states that established the regime of a military dictatorship of a fascist or near-fascist kind. The junta was a committee that consisted of a number of officers. Moreover, it was not always the highest command. This is evidenced by the winged Latin American expression "power of the colonels."
Soviet interpretation
In the post-Soviet space , the concept under consideration has received a clearly negative connotation, therefore it is also used for propaganda purposes to create a negative image of the government of a state. In a figurative sense, the term “junta” also applies to the governments of kleptocratic countries with the highest level of corruption. In everyday colloquial speech, this term can be used even in relation to a group of people who take some actions by mutual agreement. However, their goals are dishonest or even criminal.
Junta: what is it in terms of the political system?
The military junta was one of the most widespread types of authoritarian regimes that arose during the period of obtaining freedom by a number of Latin American and other states from colonial dependence. After the creation of nation-states in traditional-type societies, the military turned out to be the most cohesive and organized stratum of society. They were able to lead the masses, based on the ideas of national self-determination. After being approved by the authorities, the policy course of the military elite in different countries received a different orientation: in some states, it led to the removal of corrupt comprador elites from their posts and generally benefited the formation of a national state (Indonesia, Taiwan). In other cases, the military elite itself became an instrument for realizing the influence of serious centers of power. The story goes that most military dictatorships in Latin America funded the United States. The benefit of the United States was that in a certain country there would be no communist regime while the junta ruled. What is it, we hope, it has already become clear.
The fate of most juntas
The fact is that many people believe that democracy in many countries began precisely with the "junta" regime. What does this mean? After the outbreak of World War II, most military dictatorships, which took control of a number of countries under their control, had only a transitional character. The power of the junta gradually evolved from an authoritarian regime to democracy. Examples are countries such as South Korea, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, and others. The reasons for this lie in the following. Firstly, over time, contradictions of an economic and political nature grew within the state. Secondly, the influence of developed industrial states was growing, which sought to increase the number of democratic countries. These days, government regimes such as the junta are virtually non-existent. However, this term is firmly established in the everyday life of the whole world.