The Falkland Wars

The Falklands Wars were a standoff between the Argentinian military and the British military that occurred in 1982. For the British, the conflict was about maintaining control of the islands off the coast of Southern Argentina. For Argentina however, the conflict was designed, “to divert the civilian attention from the fall of living standard and the inflation climb of 600%” (Budanovic), as well as reclaim the islands that they believed rightfully belonged to Argentina. By turning attention away from the economic state of the country, Argentina tried to rally nationalist support against a common enemy of the state. This, however, was not successful and led to later riots after Argentina lost the conflict.

Argentina suffered a massive blow to their military. Losing 649 military personnel versus 255 British casualties (Budanovic). These were substantial casualties for Argentina because their, “original intent was to mount a quick, symbolic occupation, followed rapidly by withdrawal, leaving only a small garrison to support the new military governor” (Budanovic). Argentina decided to attack based on how close the Falklands are to Argentina, whether the British would fight for the islands, and to rally Argentines during a time of economic crisis.

Argentina’s decision to try to take the Falkland Islands led to exacerbated issues between the people and the military. It was a conflict civilians did not want and its primary goal was to rally and distract the public from the current issues the country was facing.

Budanovic, Nikola. “The Argentinian Side of the Falklands War.” War History Online, September 18, 2017. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/the-argentinian-side-falklands-m.html.