State terror in Argentina (1975-1983) as a part of a twentieth century’s history

This article explores the history of state terrorism in Argentina during the years 1975-1983, integrating it into a process that covers the entire 20th century. By way of an essay and based on our previous research, as well as on the specific bibliography, the proposal is to explain the conditions of possibility of a paradigmatic case of mass violence including three temporal variables. In the first place, long-term processes are exposed, studying the first decades of the 20th century; then those of the medium term, working on the decades of 1950, 1960 and 1970 and, finally, those of the short term address the conjuncture 1973-1976. Each section deals with a set of analytical elements that we consider essential to understand and explain the process of repressive accumulation that is connected with the massacre of political opponents in the 1970s. In general, we have targeted a series of key actors: the Armed Forces, the Security Forces, constitutional governments, de facto governments, and civil actors linked to the repression. At the same time, we include a set of elements, also decisive: the frameworks of exception, the military doctrine, the dehumanization of the enemy, the legal and illegal methods, and the repressive practices and experiences. We hope to insert state terrorism into a diverse and multi-determined history, in order to better understand and explain a phenomenon of extreme complexity.