Between the “revolutionary war” and anti-communism. The Argentine Navy and thinking about the threat to internal security in the sixties

Abstract

This work aims to contribute to the history of the Armed Forces, starting from the case of the Navy, in relation to anti-subversive repression during the sixties. It is proposed to explore the impact of counterinsurgency, that is, the theory and the practice for the “internal war” in military thinking, especially with regard to the definition of an“internal enemy”. Thanks to the use of primary sources related to the Armed Forces and articles from military journals, along with other materials, first, is analyzed the reception of French and American counterinsurgency ideas, and their irradiation in the Armed Forces, and civil and military governments. Then, is studied the way in which some members of the Navy incorporate an anti-communist concern. Finally, the “internal enemy” is investigated from the concept of “revolutionary war.”