Venezuela’s National Security and Defense Forces
Article 328: National Armed Forces of Venezuela
The National Armed Forces constitute an essentially professional institution, with no political orientation, organized by the State to ensure the independence and sovereignty of the Nation and ensure the integrity of geographical space. This is achieved through military defense, cooperation in the maintenance of internal order, and active participation in national development, in accordance with this Constitution and the law.
National Security, Defense, and the Bolivarian Militia
National Security refers to the notion of relative stability, calm, and predictability that is considered beneficial for the development of a country. It also encompasses the resources and strategies to achieve it. While the classic goals of national security were to prevent or reject state military threats (classic war), national security threats are now more diffuse. They include terrorism, environmental hazards, global-scale social phenomena, and massive migration.
National Defense comprises the activities and policies developed by modern nation-states to avoid or reject military attacks that could possibly be made by other nation-states.
The Bolivarian National Militia is a special body organized by the Venezuelan state. It is composed of the Military Reserve and the Territorial Militia, designed to defend national sovereignty and the people.
Mission and Organization of the Bolivarian National Militia
Mission: To train, prepare, and organize the people and the Military Reserve for defense programs of the nation and fighting between countries.
Organization: It has a General Command, structured similarly to a National Military component.
Leadership Styles
Leadership is the process of influencing others and supporting them to work enthusiastically towards achieving common goals. It is defined as the ability to take initiative, manage, convene, promote, encourage, motivate, and evaluate a group or team. It is the exercise of executive activities in a project, effectively and efficiently, whether personal or institutional management.
Types of Leadership
- The Autocratic Leader: Assumes full responsibility for making decisions, initiates actions, directs, motivates, and controls subordinates. The decision is centered on the leader. They may consider that only they are competent and capable of making important decisions, or they may feel that their subordinates are unable to guide themselves. The response requested from subordinates is obedience and adherence to their decisions.
- The Participative Leader: Uses consultation to practice leadership. They do not delegate their right to make final decisions and provide specific guidance to subordinates but solicit their ideas and views on many decisions that concern them. An effective participatory leader listens and analyzes the ideas of their subordinates and accepts their contributions whenever possible and practical.
- The Liberal Leader: Delegates to their subordinates the authority to make decisions. They expect subordinates to take responsibility for their own motivation, guidance, and control. Except for the stipulation of a minimum number of rules, this style of leadership provides very little contact and support for followers. Evidently, subordinates must be highly qualified and capable for this approach to have a satisfactory outcome.
Geopolitics and the Territorial Militia
Geopolitics: A science that deals with the causation of events and conflicts, drawing upon descriptive geography, economic geography, and historical geography.
Territorial Militia: It consists of citizens who voluntarily organize to fulfill comprehensive defense functions, in accordance with the principle of shared responsibility between the State and civil society. The Territorial Militia is the psychological operator, working in their communities, and has the primary responsibility for establishing communication between the territorial units and the Reserve.