Foreign Involvement in the Preconditions for Political Violence: The World System and The Case of Chile

Abstract

Current theories of internal political violence and revolution view foreign influence on these events as most often coming in two general forms: (1) direct and intentional involvement through various types of support for one side or another after a conflict has developed; and (2) the indirect and unintentional influence on the “preconditions” for political violence through such things as “cultural contact,” disruption associated with international war, or “diffusion effects.” Focusing on this second category (foreign influence on the preconditions for political violence), this paper charges that current theories have neglected the extent to which powerful nations today can have direct and intentional influence on the preconditions for political violence in highly dependent Third World nations. In attempting to account for political violence in Third World countries, recent research indicates that development must be viewed in terms of a world economic system. These findings are used in this paper, along with the recent case of Chile, to show that variables must be built into current theories of political violence to account for direct, intentional foreign involvement in the “structural strain,” “system disequilibration,” or “potential for collective violence” that must be present for the development of political violence.