Nation-building in the Guatemalan Countryside

This book seeks to explain why Guatemala's military-government escalated its use of violence in the countryside from 1978 to 1985. Antonio Gramsci's hegemony theory is used as a theoretical perspective to guide the analysis of this work. In terms of Gramsci, the military engaged in extreme violence against individuals, institutions, and whole communities because they were perceived to be part of a counter-hegemonic movement that threatened the military-dominated status quo. As a result, the military attempted to destroy these social movements and replace them with military-dominated institutions like model villages and civil patrols. Furthermore, the military tried to gain the allegiance of the rural populace through social programs and ideological indoctrination. These initiatives were designed to increase the hegemony of the military in the eyes of the rural inhabitants. Although this book is intended for academic readers, it is also accessible to lay readers who have an interest in political violence, counterinsurgency tactics, race, U.S. foreign policy, and Gramscian theory.