This paper is concerned with the dynamic stability of a microstructured elastic column loaded by circulatory forces. This nonconservative lattice (or discrete) problem is shown to be equivalent to the finite difference formulation of Beck's problem (cantilever column loaded by follower axial force). The lattice problem can be exactly solved from the resolution of a linear difference eigenvalue problem. The first part of the paper deals with the theoretical and numerical analyses of this discrete Beck's problem, with a particular emphasis on the flutter load sensitivity with respect to the discretization parameters, such as the number of links of the lattice. The second part of the paper is devoted to the elaboration of a nonlocal equivalent continuum that possesses similar mathematical or physical properties as compared to the original lattice model. A continualized nonlocal model is introduced first by expanding the difference operators present in the lattice equations in terms of differential operators. The length scale of the continualized nonlocal model is size independent. Next, Eringen's nonlocal phenomenological stress gradient is considered and applied at the beam scale in allowance for scale effects of the microstructured Beck column. The nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli beam model is able to capture the softening scale effect of the lattice model, even if the length scale of Eringen's model appears to be size dependent in this case. The continualized nonlocal continuum slightly differs from the Eringen's one, in the sense that the length scale affecting the static and the inertia terms differs in the deflection equation. A general parametric study illustrates the capability of each nonlocal model, the phenomenological and the continualized one, with respect to the reference lattice model. Nonlocal Beck's column is shown to be a transient medium from Ziegler's column (two-degree-of-freedom system) to the local continuous Beck's column (with an infinite degree of freedom).Lattice systems can be considered as the reference discrete periodic media, for correctly understanding the role of microstructure in the response of a material or a structural element at a larger scale. The pioneer atomic chain model of Born and von Kármán [8], composed of concentrated masses connected by linear elastic springs, is often considered as the paradigmatic uniaxial lattice in vibrations. This uniaxial lattice, also called microstructured chain or discrete chain, has been later shown to macroscopically behave as a nonlocal continuous bar by Eringen and Kim [20] or Eringen [21]. Eringen and Kim [20] or Eringen [21] shows that the integral kernel of the nonlocal equivalent model associated with this axial lattice depended on the lattice spacing. It is worth mentioning that the model of Born and von Kármán [8] can be used for three-dimensional crystal lattice applications.For structural mechanics applications, the reference bending lattice is the model of Hencky. Called Hencky's system [24], it comprises rigid links connected by elastic...