Dynamiken des Scheiterns

Akteure, Netzwerke und Transferprozesse der bundesdeutschen Polizeihilfe für Guatemala (1986–1991)

By (author) Fabian Bennewitz

Book cover: Dynamiken des Scheiterns

Extent: 385 pages

Publisher: Böhlau Verlag Köln

Subjects: German Studies, Hispanic & Portuguese Studies, Twentieth- & Twenty-First- Century History

Language: German

Hardback (Published)

(December 2023)

ISBN: 9783412528966

6.3 x 9.33 inches

Price: $94.00

In stock

Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland begann sich ab 1986 mit Ausrustungslieferungen und Ausbildungsprogrammen an der Reform der beruchtigten Polizei Guatemalas zu beteiligen. Gestutzt auf erstmals ausgewertetes Archivmaterial und Interviews analysiert Fabian Bennewitz die Aushandlungsprozesse, die zum Scheitern der Transferbemuhungen fuhrten.


In 1986, in the course of Guatemala’s democratic opening, the Federal Republic of Germany launched an extensive police assistance project to help reform the country’s notorious police forces. Equipment deliveries and training programs were intended to move the Guatemalan police forces towards democratic policing principles and rule of law standards. By 1991, however, non of these goals had been achieved. After continuous human rights violations by Guatemala security forces, the cooperation was terminated. Drawing on interviews and new archival sources, Fabian Bennewitz analyzes the negotiation processes that ultimately led to the failure of the project’s transfer efforts. By reconstructing the highly contingent unfolding of the cooperation from a transnational and relational perspective, the author offers insights into the often elusive dynamics of development projects.

  • By (author) Fabian Bennewitz