On April 1982, the Argentine military invaded a series of islands referred to as Falkland Islands. They rapidly overcame the small garrison operated by British marines and rapidly stationed troops in the islands (Encyclopædia Britannica para 2). In response, the United Kingdom undertook a counter-invasion and occupation of the islands to deny the Argentinians from claiming sovereignty over the archipelago. It took almost two months of combat, in which combat casualties exceeded a thousand soldiers, before the British military reversed the successes that Argentina had initially made (Martin 152). Eventually, the UK asserted its own sovereignty over the then-disputed archipelago. Even though the outcome of the conflict is evident, the reasons that sparked the war remain murky. With his regime facing intense domestic pressure, he sought to an opportunity that could enable him direct domestic attention from austerity measures brought about by the rapidly deteriorating political and economic conditions in Argentina (Martin 148). In the end, 650 Argentine and 255 British troops died after the UK began combating the Argentine invasion (Government Digital Service). As the European Union shows, Falkland Islands are now recognized globally as part of British Overseas Territory (European …show more content…
Considering that the Galtieri’s regime had overthrown his predecessor through a coup, it had made efforts at consolidating judicial and legislative control. Such meant that the government officials were not required to prove themselves to the general electorate and could not be held accountable to the general Argentine voters. Consequently, they could develop a war policy over the Falkland Islands without input or debate from constituents even though they are the one bearing the costs. Rather, the war strategy remained secret with the general public as well as members of the Argentine government unaware of the strategy or the policies being discussed. The military structure that the government adopted hindered any internal debate related to the war strategy. As a sign of its disrespect of fundamental human rights, the junta regime committed atrocities that violated human rights. In a similar manner to the way it created violent and aggressive policies towards its citizenry, the government was vulnerable to develop aggressive policies on foreign affairs especially considering that the brutal social and political oppressiveness of the junta administration isolated the interaction that Argentina had with the international community (Stransky 494). With low economic development hindering Argentina military investment, even the