Today, December 1, Costa Rica celebrates the anniversary of abolishing its army. That's right, Costa Rica has had *NO STANDING ARMY* since 1948 and the country continues to be a place with no military.For a lot of people, especially U.S. citizens who can't imagine a country without a strong military, this is a tough idea to wrap your head around. In this episode, I *DO NOT MEAN TO EXPRESS ANY POLITICAL OPINIONS* but instead I hope to provide some general insight and context for security in Costa Rica - how can Costa Rica protect itself without a military?I delve into threats to CR's security and the regional context. To be clear, the biggest threat to any Latin American country for the last 100 years has been either 1) internal military and political struggles or 2) intervention from the U.S.Costa Rica enjoys a close relationship with the United States and is closely aligned with the Colossus in the North - so in short, perhaps the biggest external threat is already a non-issue.Expats in Costa Rica enjoy the security of also knowing that a powerful military group is not capable of seizing control of the country, as you'd see in other places.

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