ABSTRACT
Located in the northern part of South America, Guyana is culturally, historically, and ethnically linked with the English-speaking islands of the Caribbean. As such, it presents an interesting case study of a Third World nation where the military has never taken political power into its hands. This case, however, can not be considered a successful experience in civilian control of the armed forces, according to the expectations of most Western academics dealing with this subject. In other words, the reasons why the Guyanese military has not seized, or even attempted to take over the government, have little or nothing to do with concepts like professionalization, “liberalizationdemocratization”, or even the toleration of some level of political competition between civilians. Relations between civilian society and the armed forces in Guyana seem to fit neither the model of its Latin American neighbors (Venezuela and Brazil) nor that of most of the English-speaking Caribbean. On the contrary, the Guyanese model more closely resembles that found in Sub-Sahara Africa, with Tanzania apparently being the most similar experience.
