This new Handbook is a comprehensive collection of cutting-edge essays on all aspects of Latin American Security by a mix of established and emerging scholars.

The Routledge Handbook of Latin American Security identifies the key contemporary topics of research and debate, taking into account that the study of Latin America’s comparative and international politics has undergone dramatic changes since the end of the Cold War, the return of democracy and the re-legitimization and re-armament of the military against the background of low-level uses of force short of war.

Latin America’s security issues have become an important topic in international relations and Latin American studies. This Handbook sets a rigorous agenda for future research and is organised into five key parts:

• The Evolution of Security in Latin America

• Theoretical Approaches to Security in Latin America

• Different 'Securities'

• Contemporary Regional Security Challenges

• Latin America and Contemporary International Security Challenges

With a focus on contemporary challenges and the failures of regional institutions to eliminate the threat of the use of force among Latin Americans, this Handbook will be of great interest to students of Latin American politics, security studies, war and conflict studies and International Relations in general.

'This ambitious, timely handbook is strongly recommended for graduate students and comparative and international relations scholars interested in Latin America and its regional and international relations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and faculty.' -- E. Acevedo, California State University, Los Angeles. CA, in CHOICE

David R. Mares holds the Institute of the Americas Chair for Inter-American Affairs, University of California, San Diego. He is author/editor of nine books including most recently Debating Civil-Military Relations in Latin America (with Rafael Martínez, 2013).

Arie M. Kacowicz is the Chaim Weizmann Chair in International Relations and Associate Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He is the author of four books including most recently Globalization and the Distribution of Wealth: The Latin American Experience, 1982-2008 (2013).