The Opposition Front against the Compulsory Military Service. The debate over conscription and the human rights activism in the post-dictatorship Argentina

SANTIAGO GARAÑO

Genocide Studies and Prevention

University of Toronto Press

Lugar: Toronto, Canadá; Año: 2010 vol. 5 p. 174 - 190

1911-0359

The Compulsory Military Service (CMS) in Argentina was in place from 1902 to 1995. Even though its abolition was directly linked with the murder of soldier Omar Carrasco, the prosecution of this case of violence should not ignore the pre-existing opposition movement that developed towards the end of the last dictatorship (1976-83). Within the context of a wider debate on the functioning of conscription, in November 1983, a group of human rights activists launched the Opposition Front against the CMS (FOSMO). In this paper we examine FOSMO´s history, which provides an insight into the hypothesis that, under certain historical and political circumstances, human rights activists can contribute to debate, as well as challenge and limit state violence through a series of political and legal strategies. In this regard, the paper analyzes the links (people, arguments, disputes) that FOSMO constructed: first, to question a strongly rooted institution in young men´s socialization (and highly significant in the building of masculinity); second, not to denounce the failures or ´excesses´, but the logic of the operation, values and violent practices that organized it; and, finally, to seek institutional channels to achieve the abolition of this compulsory system. Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal (GSP) is the official journal of The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS). IAGS is a global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, and advance policy studies on prevention of genocide. IAGS, founded in 1994, meets to consider comparative research, important new work, case studies, the links between genocide and other human rights violations, and prevention and punishment of genocide.GSP is a peer-reviewed journal that fosters comparative research, important new work, case studies, the links between genocide, mass violence and other human rights violations, and prevention and punishment of genocide and mass violence. The E-Journal contains articles on the latest developments in policy, research, and theory from various disciplines, including history, political science, sociology, psychology, international law, criminal justice, women´s studies, religion, philosophy, literature, anthropology, and museology, visual and performance arts and history. GSP is abstracted / indexed in the following publications: China Education Publications Import & Export Corporation (CEPIEC); CrossRef; EJS EBSCO Electronic Journals Service ; Google Scholar ; International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA); Project MUSE ; Microsoft Academic Search; Swetswise Online Content.