Environmental history of war, an emerging field. Horizons from Latin America

Abstract

The environmental history of war is a field that has developed in the English-speaking world in recent years, and has focused on understanding socio-environmental relationships in violent environments. Among its study phenomena, world wars stand out, which to a large extent receive great attention due to their global repercussions. However, Latin America remains far from this debate, with some exceptions. In this sense, this text offers a balance that seeks to identify lines of research, concepts, and methods that contribute to the constitution of a historiography that responds to the realities and concerns of the region. Among these particularities one can find internal armed conflicts characterized by guerrilla insurgency against authoritarian or dictatorial regimes, the so-called 'dirty' wars, and wars against drug trafficking. From these conflicts, medium-duration armed confrontations developed, which, in turn, acquired an important geopolitical influence.