INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND SECURITY STUDIES, pages: 97 - 119, 2023

Representations in Codes and Geopolitical Models of the Plurinational State of Bolivia Regarding Defense and Security

Doi: https://doi.org/10.58603/IRRD5962

Rezumat: The governments of the Movement Towards Socialism implemented profound structural reforms in the Bolivian State, encompassing legal and regulatory aspects and citizen relations, as well as the symbolic production of the State. The creation of the Plurinational State implied reforms in the legal, normative and doctrinal frameworks, based on an institutionalized collective imaginary. This ideological-political construct, known as "national popular" (Cf. Infra), became state policies under the Suma Qamaña model. This doctrine, which emerged from the interpretations, discourses and representations of the various trade union strata of the Movement Towards Socialism, guided the restructuring of the formal spheres of the Bolivian State.
The study of how the Plurinational State constructed, signified and operationalized the concept of "security" revealed the social relations underlying the political processes and some consequences of its implementation at the societal level. This includes the process of normalization and internalization of a political-citizen habitus, which develops mainly in the informal sphere of social relations, in clear contradiction with the limits and objectives established by the formal sphere. Such habitus not only permeates civil society interactions, but also has a profound impact on the governance and management of state and public policies, as well as on their scope, effectiveness and relevance in relation to the civil society to which they are beholden. This highlights the contradictions between the State, its organs and institutions, and the corporate and union interests that make up the political hegemony of the MAS.