Ecuadorian foreign policy during the War of the Pacific: An analysis from the balances of power outlook in Latin America

Abstract

The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) which pitted Peru and Bolivia against Chile, represents an armed conflict marked by the realism policies that impose national interest, in the presence of other states, altering the regional political balance under the justification of territorial claims. This policy affected not only the belligerents, but also other countries that could join the confrontation, seeking to change their status quo. Ecuador represents this reflexion, in that its participation could strengthen its southern border with Peru, pending since independence from Spain. Was it the internal political weakness that did not allow them to specify a possible intervention? This historical process, from the perspective of classical realism in international relations, where a country's domestic scene is a decisive factor in the projection of its foreign policy will be studied in the following pages.