German Assistance in Cold War Policing in Paraguay
German Assistance in Cold War Policing in Paraguay
- Mónika Contreras SaizMónika Contreras SaizFreie Universitat Berlin, History
Summary
Between 1962 and 1989 the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) provided policing assistance projects for the Paraguayan police. After the United States, the FRG was the country in which most Paraguayan police officers completed their training. German policing assistance, called Polizeihilfe, was based on the idea that the transfer of models and principles of constitutional and democratic policing would lead to the stabilization of politics and the reduction of violence and delinquency in the beneficiary countries. The study of policing cooperation and assistance between countries from the Western hemisphere during the Cold War reveals processes of transfer, translation, and appropriation of a set of practices and knowledge which affected the local security of beneficiary countries and the professional careers of those who carried out that training. Also important were the tensions and criticisms that arose when the FRG, a democratic state, gave assistance to the police of Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorial regime.
Keywords
Subjects
- History of Southern Spanish America
- 1945–1991
- Military History
