Regions comprised primarily of weak states are zones of wars of the third kind. The etiology of these wars resides primarily within states that lack vertical and horizontal legitimacy. Many of these domestic wars cannot be contained within their frontiers, however. They become internationalized in various ways, sometimes leading to war between two or more states. Weak states are found predominantly in that vast area often inappropriately called the Third World, in the Balkans, and in some of the former Soviet republics. Does South America belong in any of these categories? Many people have so designated it. But the figures in table 2.1 show that South America has a unique profile of war. Like the other areas, it has seen a relatively high incidence of internal wars; but there have been no wars of secession. And, completely at odds with the other areas, there has been no war between South American states since 1941. South America is an intriguing anomaly. Is the war pattern of this region related to the weak state phenomenon? How can we explain the anomaly?

South America constitutes a distinct international system. It is linked to other systems, particularly to Central America and North America, but it contains its own unique properties and dynamics. G. Pope Atkins (1990: 1) defines it as an “international political subsystem” A prominent scholar of South American history (Burr 1965: 3, 28, 57) has chronicled its early years as a “continental system.” Barry Buzan (1991: 207, 210) lists it among his “regional security complexes.” Many other analysts concur with that categorization.