Lawful warriors: Respecting human rights while policing social protest. A cultural study of the First Mobile Detachment of the Argentine National Gendarmerie

A critical challenge facing Argentine State Security forces today is how to balance the demands of public order—specifically how to disband illegal piquetes (pickets) and cortes de ruta (blockading of roads) that are proliferating throughout the country—with the respect for basic human rights of protesters. Historically, Argentine soldiers and police officers have failed to achieve this balance, opting for bloody repression that has violated the basic norms of jus in bello (justice in war); necessity; proportionality; discrimination between combatants and non-combatants; and the prevention of unnecessary suffering.; However, there are indications that one, contemporary Argentine Security Force, the Gendarmeria National Argentina (Argentine National Gendarmerie or GNA), a hybrid police/military organization, is achieving this balance. To investigate this possibility, the author studies one mobile detachment of the GNA charged with public order operations, the Destacamento Móvil 1 stationed in Campo de Mayo in the province of Buenos Aires.; To this end, the author focuses on three elements of the Móvi1 1's culture: obedience to systems of authority (superior orders, laws and internal procedures); self-image (how the gendarmes see themselves and how they want to be seen); and adversary image (how the gendarmes view/construct images of the many different protesters they confront). While acknowledging there is a nascent, causal story connecting these three elements with respect for human rights, the author opts for rich description instead of causation. He bases this description on over thirty in-depth interviews with the gendarmes using the Verstehen method from November 28 to December 12, 2001 and over two years of follow up investigations in Argentina.; What emerges is a portrait of a State Security Force culture infused with respect for jus in bello. From their strict obedience to the rule of law, to their self-image as civil servants and common workers, to their empathy with their opponents' economic situation, the gendarmes suggest that balance between order and respect in Argentina is possible.; While recognizing the importance of this first glimpse into the gendarme culture, the author concludes on a cautious note, suggesting that further investigation should be carried out to support these initial findings.