Argentina's state intelligence secretariat: a concise history of SIDE

"This book examines the role and place of Argentina's principal intelligence service-the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE)-from 1956 to 2001 through military dictatorships and into the country's democratic era. This concise history is concerned with revealing SIDE's role in a succession of dark episodes in Argentina's history, including aiding or turning a blind eye to Nazi war criminals settling in Argentina and SIDE's role as one of the drivers of repression, torture, disappearances, and murder during the Dirty War era (1976-1983). Another major theme of the book will be if and how intelligence agencies can be democratized and held accountable after democratic transitions. The case of SIDE shows the difficulty of complete democratic transitions and holding human rights violators accountable, but agencies also show a chameleon-like ability to ingratiate themselves to the new regime of the day"-- Provided by publisher.