On August 7th, 2000, the Institute of Governance and Social Research (Jos, Nigeria), the Institute of Global Cultural Studies and the Center on Democratic Performance at Binghamton University convened an international conference in Abuja, Nigeria on "The Military in Africa and Latin America: A Dialogue between Soldiers and Civilians in Quest of Democracy."
The purpose of the conference was to bring together politicians, military officers, civilians and academicians from Argentina, Brazil and Nigeria to discuss the processes and obstacles to democratic transition. Important to the organizers of the conference was the promotion of a South-South dialogue on the complexities of democratic transitions. This conference illustrated that a fruitful exchange among participants from Southern countries can prove beneficial.
A full report of the conference is available in PDF format.