Switching from Indiscriminate to Selective Violence: The Case of the Peruvian Military (1980–95)

Abstract

This essay asks why the Peruvian military switched from indiscriminate to selective violence during Peru's internal conflict (1980–95). It discusses three answers suggested by the literature, to be called the ‘self-learning,’ ‘reaction’ and ‘adjustment’ arguments. For the self-learning argument, the switch occurred because the military realised that indiscriminate violence was counterproductive. For the reaction and adjustment arguments, by contrast, the switch was a response to external constraints. In the reaction argument, the constraints prompted the military to review its fighting preferences and abandon indiscriminate violence as a policy option. The adjustment argument disagrees. From its perspective, there was neither a review process nor a change in preferences: the military simply adjusted its behaviour to a new environment. These three arguments are tested using the method of process tracing. It is concluded that only the adjustment argument explains the Peruvian case.