The Militarization of Culture in the Dominican Republic, from the Captains General to General Trujillo (Studies in War, Society, and the Military)

The Militarization of Culture in the Dominican Republic, from the Captains General to General Trujillo traces the interaction of the military and the civilian population, showing the many ways in which the military ethos has permeated Dominican culture. Valentina Peguero categorizes the Dominican military before 1930 as protectionists, facilitators, or self-servers, a framework that sheds new light on Dominican civil-military relations.

Peguero synchronizes the history of the Dominican military and that of Dominican society from her dual perspectives as a native of the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo era and as a historian who is well acquainted with the country’s history and literature. She shows how the brutal Trujillo dictatorship created La Nueva Patria (The New Fatherland) to promote a new order and present the military as a model for society, imposing military principles on the civil society and mixing military culture with popular culture to reshape the nation. Structured around interviews with former military personnel, scholars, and politicians, this study brings to life documentary information and presents a poignant narrative that describes the unintended consequences that resulted when Trujillo valued arming the nation above meeting the needs of the populace.