João Resende-Santos is Assistant Professor of Government in the Department of International Studies at Bentley College. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Resende-Santos has published articles in Security Studies, Latin American Politics and Society, and Latin American Research Review. He is co-founder of an international development consulting firm, and is a Research Fellow at the Cronin International Center, Bentley College.

"This is a fascinating, impressively documented, and intellectually provocative book which ‘marries Waltz and Tilly’ through the integration of comparative politics and international relations theory. This book will fascinate scholars interested in improving the predictive capacity of neorealist international relations theory; scholars and practitioners seeking to understand the state-building implications of responses to external imperatives; and scholars, practitioners, and citizens who want to understand why and how three South American countries - Argentina, Brazil, and Chile - built modern mass armies at the dawn of the twentieth century." Louis W. Goodman, American University

• 1. Military emulation in the international system; 2. Theory of military emulation; 3. Arms and states in nineteenth century South America; 4. Military emulation in Chile, 1885–1914; 5. Military emulation in Argentina, 1895–1930; 6. Military emulation in Brazil, 1870–1930; 7. Conclusion.