4 hours researching/reading

Bit of a ho-hum day. Went back to micro-level data, continuing to gather information at the town level from the 1938 census. It's slow going, and there's not a lot of variation - they're small, rural, poor towns. One or two are standing out, but I'm not seeing the pattern yet.

Read parts of an excellent study on the very negative impact of militarization on development called Militarization, Democracy, and Development. It's quite inspirational as a role model, combining cross-national statistical analysis with detailed case studies. One of the case studies, and there are some mentions I'll need to follow up on about a Honduran military dictator in the 1960s making changes to the police upon assuming power - which is exactly what Rojas Pinilla did in Colombia in the 1950s. The other case study, Costa Rica, remains one I need to get more into, as a country where the army was abolished in 1948, with very positive outcomes over the following six decades. I need to figure out how this case fits into my framework; I think it's very hard to essentially cut through the Gordian knot of having either to create a strong army and militarized police that can maintain order - but then may want to take over the government - or to create a less strong army and a politicized police that aren't a threat to take over, but aren't very good at quelling armed rebellion from below. It's worth my thinking more about how Costa Rica got out of this problem....

Thanks to Dan Faltz for monitoring this week. Next up is Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, in New York. Laura's mother is Colombian, and she was a Fulbright in Bogota at the same time as me, so I'll really need to be on my game next week as far as Colombian history.

Have a great weekend!