Abstract: Standing alongside General Laura Richardson, head of the United States of America Army Southern Command, Milei proclaimed a ‘new doctrine.’ Explaining the shift requires understanding Milei’s ideological framework and its translation into foreign policy actions in order to fully account for the possible implications on regional and global security.
Jodor Jalit is an Argentine journalist, lecturer, and researcher currently based in the Middle East. He founded the digital platform El Intérprete Digital to amplify Arab voices in Spanish. His areas of interest are regional dynamics and security governance. His work has been published in Revista Estudios Internacionales, Página 12, Syria Untold, Middle East Eye, and other publications.
--
In the last presidential debate before the Argentine elections of October 2023, then-candidate Javier Milei declared his alignment with the “Free World, Israel, and the USA.” Since taking office, he has actively pursued policies advancing this foreign policy agenda with significant implications on the security landscape of Latin America and beyond. The policies, in both theory and practice, embrace right-wing neoliberal economic policies and a hawkish agenda that seeks to align Argentina with USA-led pro-war NATO policies.
First, Milei attended the 2024 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting to present socialism as an imminent threat to Western values, criticizing socialist influences among Western leaders and advocating for liberal economic policies.
Then, Milei traveled to Israel on his first state visit to confirm his intention to relocate Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem, reiterate condemnation of Hamas, and support Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Palestine.
Lastly, Milei received a visit from US State Department and CIA officials, voted along the USA and Israel at the UN General Assembly, applied for NATO global partner status, and rejected an invitation to join BRICS.
Such moves are attempting to reorient and redefine Argentina’s international positioning. Explaining these shifts requires understanding Milei’s ideological framework and its translation into foreign policy actions in order to fully account for the possible implications on regional and global security.
The Milei Ideology
Javier Milei publicly identifies with a blend of liberal-libertarian and anarcho-capitalist ideologies, or an extreme form of neoliberalism. Additionally, his desire to convert to Judaism and his support for Israel reflects Christian-Zionist tendencies. These ideological perspectives permeate Milei’s speeches, informing his political ideology.
Milei frequently invokes classical figures such as Juan Bautista Alberdi, a 19th century Argentine political theorist and diplomat who is often cited as a staunch advocate for free market values along with Adam Smith and Friedrich August von Hayek. Regardless of the nuances of the positions of those thinkers, right-wing politicians look up to them for inspiration.
Milei has consistently invoked these thinkers to justify his radical anti-state economic policies and justifies them by claiming that individual freedom is an essential element for Argentina’s economic recovery. Last June, Carlos A. Gebauer, chairman of the Friedrich August von Hayek Foundation, a recognized neoliberal institution, introduced Milei as an example of the Austrian economic school and awarded him the institution’s international medal. Most notoriously, he closes speeches while shouting “Long live damn liberty.”
Milei is also influenced by Zionism, affecting his personal beliefs and worldview. Although raised in a Christian-Catholic household, Milei has developed deep interest in Judaism and strong ties with Jewish Orthodox communities. He is unable to distinguish Jews from Zionist and Israelis while linking Jewish history with current Israel. Most troubling, his nationalism was compromised when he waved Israeli flags during a campaign rally and wished to become the first Jewish president in Argentine history.
These ideological frameworks collectively shape Milei’s worldview and interactions with the world. Due to his personalist leadership style, they have permeated Argentina’s foreign policy, resulting in the introduction of a ‘new doctrine,’ sidelining of the diplomatic corps, and departing from long-established policies. For example, abandoning of the so-called ‘equidistant’ policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Milei and the World
Standing alongside General Laura Richardson, head of the United States of America (USA) Army Southern Command (SouthComm), Milei proclaimed a ‘new doctrine’ in foreign policy rooted in shared Western values: human life, individual freedom, and private property. He declared, “We are ushering in a new era in Argentina’s global relations. Our alliance with the United States [sic] sends a clear message to the world.”
Analysts are grappling to decipher Argentina’s ‘new doctrine’ in foreign policy.
Sociologist Juan Gabriel Tokatlian identifies three key influences shaping Argentinian foreign policy’s ‘new doctrine’: the notion of the “clash of civilizations,” the importance of religion, and the role of reactionary thought. In his words, “Milei aims to revive the notion that a fragmented and impoverished Argentina requires an all-out cultural struggle to rejuvenate its vitality.”
Tokatlian also outlines three defining characteristics: anachronism, confrontation, and dogmatism. That is, Milei reintroduced Cold War rhetoric by framing socialism as the main threat to Western values, attacking left-leaning governments by calling, for example, Brazilian president Luis Inácio Lula da Silva a corrupt socialist, and declining an invitation to join BRICS, indicating foreign policy differences with the preceding left-leaning administration.
In the same line, Milei made significant efforts to separate Argentina from its immediate neighborhood. In addition to attacking the Brazilian president, he called the presidents of Chile, Colombia and Mexico, “impoverisher,” “terrorist assassin,” and “ignorant” respectively. More recently, he abstained from attending the latest MERCOSUR meeting in Paraguay to participate in the Conservative Political Action Conference organized by former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
Researcher Andres Malamud characterizes Milei as “a local example of a global phenomenon with distinct characteristics.” That, because Milei capitalizes on anti-establishment sentiments and aligns himself with the likes of Donald Trump, Giorgia Meloni, and Jair Bolsonaro. However, he distinguishes himself by favoring anti-globalist narratives rather than nationalism.
Milei and Security
The ‘new doctrine’ espoused by Milei publicly aligns with and contributes to the USA’s national security strategy (NSS). Specifically, it plays into the geopolitical competition and transnational threats delineated by the Biden administration. Most importantly, it carries significant implications for regional and global security.
Argentina’s alignment with the NSS is evidenced by, first, Commander of USA Southern Command (SouthCom) and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) visiting Argentina; second, acquisition of USA-manufactured military hardware by the Argentine armed forces; third, construction of a joint Argentine-USA naval base in Ushuaia; and fourth, international intelligence cooperation.
These developments raise security concerns for the region as a whole. First, it augments the naval presence and strategic capabilities of the USA in the Southern Atlantic by offering SouthCom a safe port for repairs and resupply. Second, the new base will complement existing installations in the air and sea base in Concon, Chile, allowing the USA to monitor traffic to and from Antarctica and through the Beagle Channel. Third, it counters Chinese influence in the Patagonia region as well as the southern Pacific and Atlantic seas.
This development comes at a time when recently elected leftist governments in South America aim for greater autonomy from the USA. Thus, Argentina’s ‘new doctrine’ appears to run against regional trends and ambitions.
Besides its contribution to countering Chinese influence in the region, Milei’s ‘new doctrine’ has had a limited and symbolic impact on global security. In that sense, he suggested sending military assistance to support Ukraine’s military effort, and forming a crisis committee in response to Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel. He also lent international support to Netanyahu’s military campaign in Palestine, took initial steps to earn Argentina a NATO global partner status, and most recently, added Hamas to the national list of organizations sanctioned for participating and sponsoring terrorism.
This symbolism stems from Argentina’s lack of material resources to make a significant contribution to global security. That is, the Milei administration is limited to manifesting alignment with Washington in its rejection of Chinese global leadership, Russian territorial ambitions, Iranian regional influence, and Palestinian statehood aspirations. Argentina is undergoing what The Economist called a “radical experiment” that leaves little room for “any modernization and development of military capabilities,” according to Sergio Eissa, professor at the National Defense University.
The symbolic contribution by the Milei administration, however, allowed the USA to increase its military presence in the Southern Cone in pursuit of geopolitical competition and transnational threats, and Israel to avoid full isolation at the international arena while the Netanyahu government continues to pursue a genocidal war in Palestine. At the regional level, it is delaying—if not stopping—the reemergence of a regional block striving for greater autonomy from the USA as Argentina finds it increasingly difficult to sustain normal relations with next door neighbors.
More
Public Policy
Day-Afters in Palestine: 1937-2024
