"Do Third World countries benefit from having large militaries, or does this impede their development? In the face of conflicting evidence from prior quantitative research and case studies, Kirk Bowman sets out to explore just what effect militarization has had on development in Latin America.".

"To illuminate the causal mechanisms at work - how agency and sequence operate in the relationship between militarization and these three areas of development - Bowman offers a detailed comparison of Costa Rica and Honduras between 1948 and 1998.

The case studies not only serve to bolster his general argument about the harmful effects of militarization but also provide many new insights into the processes of democratic consolidation and economic transformation in these two Central American countries."--BOOK JACKET.