THE AMERICAN PRUSSIA. CHILE AND ITS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DURING THE PACIFIC WAR AND POST-WAR PERIOD (1879-1891).

“By virtue of the war victory in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883), Chile became a regional power that projected its national objectives to the Latin American international system. This was manifested in the implementation of an active foreign policy that sought to neutralize the actions of other South American states (Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela) against its interests and, in particular, the attempts of the United States to interfere in South America. This international attitude was supported by a relatively homogeneous, politically ordered society, a relevant military power in the region that was sustained by an economic-productive base (thanks to the saltpetre riches) and the development of an active and critical public opinion of Chile's objectives and actions in the international field. Chilean foreign policy in the Latin American area was expressed in a “dynamic conception” of the balance of power. The Chilean State, as a result of its state superiority, was aware of its responsibility in the maintenance of national and Latin American interests in the post-war period, which meant opposing the hegemonic objectives of the hemispheric power (the United States) in a South American international environment of constant instability and threat. This gave rise to the development of an open political and naval rivalry between Chile and the United States. The field of expression of this international opposition was the so-called “Panama question” in the post-war period. In short, we maintain that Chile's capacity to react in the American international system in the eighties of the 19th century was based on the materialization of an equation where national objectives were projected in a “power policy” that used diplomacy and naval power as its main instruments”.