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2. Protesting Against Crime and Insecurity: High-Risk Activism in Mexico's Drug War
- Author:
- Sandra J. Ley Gutiérrez
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- When do protests against crime and insecurity take place, regardless of the risks that such mobilization may entail? This paper argues that while violence provides an initial motivation for participating in protests, social networks play a fundamental role in incentivizing citizen mobilization against insecurity. Socialization within networks helps generate solidarity and empathy among participants, while at the same time transforming emotions associated with living in a violent context into potential for action. Also, through networks, individuals share information about opportunities for collective action and change their perceptions about the effectiveness and risks of such activism. These distinct mechanisms are valuable for the activation of protest against crime across levels of violence. Supporting evidence is derived from an original dataset on protest events in reaction to violence in Mexico between 2006 and 2012. Additionally, I rely on qualitative in-depth interviews and participant observation to illustrate the role of networks in protest against crime across several Mexican states. This paper contributes to the growing literature on criminal violence and political participation.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Crime, Social Movement, Protests, Violence, Social Networks, and Activism
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, North America, and Mexico
3. Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin: A Typology for Research, Policy and Action
- Author:
- Adriana Abdenur, Brodie Ferguson, Ilona Szabo de Carvalho, Melina Risso, and Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- According to the world’s top scientific experts, deforestation and degradation are up 25 percent in the first six months compared to last year. More forests are being cleared in 2020 than at any point in the past 15 years. Although spectacular levels of illegal burning have occupied global headlines, a host of other less visible but equally significant environmental crimes are being committed throughout the Amazon basin every day. Such crimes not only impact biodiversity and the global climate, but are virtually always associated with social ills ranging from corruption to slavery and violence. A new paper from the Igarape Institute – Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin: a Typology for Research, Policy and Action – introduces a typology to help better understand the scope and scale of the problem and its extensive social and environmental impacts. To date, one of the principal barriers to better policing of the Amazon is the confusion and ambiguity of what is, and is not, a crime. Different countries apply different interpretations which can frustrate investigations and the enforcement of existing laws. The new paper is designed to provide greater clarity to policy makers, law enforcement agencies, civil society actors, and companies committed to curbing environmental crime.
- Topic:
- Crime, Environment, Public Policy, Ecology, and Deforestation
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, and Amazon Basin
4. Amérique latine - L’année politique 2018
- Author:
- David Díaz Arias, Luisa Cajamarca, Maya Collombon, Olivier Dabène, Gaspard Estrada, Manuel Gárate, Marie-Laure Geoffray, Damien Larrouqué, Frédéric Louault, Maria Teresa Martínez, Anaís Medeiros Passos, Kevin Parthenay, Gustavo Pastor, Carlos A. Romero, Pierre Salama, and Sebastián Urioste
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- Amérique latine - L’Année politique is a publication by CERI-Sciences Po’s Political Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean (OPALC). The study extends the work presented on the Observatory’s website (www.sciencespo.fr/opalc) by offering tools for understanding a continent that is in the grip of deep transformations.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Civil Society, Corruption, Crime, Democratization, Nationalism, Political Economy, Religion, Governance, Peacekeeping, Economy, Political Science, Regional Integration, Memory, and Transnational Actors
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Latin America, Nicaragua, Caribbean, Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and Bolivia
5. Formal Employment and Organized Crime: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Colombia
- Author:
- Jorge Tamayo, Anant Nyshadham, Carlos Medina, and Gaurav Khanna
- Publication Date:
- 08-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC)
- Abstract:
- Canonical models of crime emphasize economic incentives. Yet, causal evidence of sorting into criminal occupations in response to individual-level variation in incentives is limited. We link administrative socioeconomic microdata with the universe of arrests in Medellίn over a decade. We exploit exogenous variation in formal-sector employment around a socioeconomic-score cutoff, below which individuals receive benefits if not formally employed, to test whether a higher cost to formal-sector employment induces crime. Regression discontinuity estimates show this policy generated reductions in formal-sector employment and a corresponding spike in organized crime, but no effects on crimes of impulse or opportunity.
- Topic:
- Crime, Economics, Political Economy, and Labor Issues
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
6. Only Connect: the Survival and Spread of Organized Crime in Latin America
- Author:
- Ivan Briscoe and David Keseberg
- Publication Date:
- 02-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Deeply entrenched over decades, organized crime has married with systemic corruption and high levels of impunity to generate multiple forms of political and economic capital across the ideological spectrum in Latin America. But recent experience gives some provisional grounds for optimism. The end point of popular disaffection with flawed democracies and illicit links between criminal groups, political elites, and the private sector need not inevitably result in an embrace of authoritarianism and/or charismatic caudillos.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Private Sector, and Organized Crime
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and North America
7. Citizen Security in Latin America: Facts and Figures
- Author:
- Robert Muggah and Katherine Aguirre Tobón
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- Many Latin American countries, states and cities are facing a chronic public security crisis. In spite of more than a decade of modest economic growth, crime and victimization rates are rising, not dropping. Nevertheless, recent information of 2017 show some signs of improvement. Criminal violence is routinely singled out as one of the top concerns of citizens from across Mexico, Central America and South America. And there are warning signs that the region ́s high rates of criminal violence and victimization will continue rising if nothing is done. Latin American priorities and approaches to public security have shifted over the past two decades, with growing attention devoted to citizen security. In contrast to traditional law and order approaches to crime, citizen security privileges a more comprehensive and people-centered conceptualization of security and safety – including more data-driven policing, smarter approaches to criminal justice, alternatives to incarceration, and investments in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. The following report sets out the broad parameters of Latin America ‘s crime challenges and explores innovations in promoting public safety and citizen security. It also underlines the heterogeneity of Latin America ́s security environment, including the strong differences between regions, countries, states and cities. Taken together, the report issues a descriptive assessment of the scope and scale of the challenges, as well as opportunities for CAF to support partners in their efforts to prevent and reduce crime and improve safety for all Latin Americans.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, International Security, Violence, and Data
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Mexico
8. Amérique latine - L’année politique 2017
- Author:
- Javier Corrales, Olivier Dabène, Gaspard Estrada, Antoine Faure, Erica Guevara, Marie-Esther Lacuisse, Damien Larrouqué, Nordin Lazreg, Frédéric Louault, Antoine Maillet, Frédéric Massé, and Luis Rivera Vélez
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- Amérique latine - L’Année politique is a publication by CERI-Sciences Po’s Political Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean (OPALC). The study extends the work presented on the Observatory’s website (www.sciencespo.fr/opalc) by offering tools for understanding a continent that is in the grip of deep transformations.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Sovereignty, Peacekeeping, Protests, Political Science, Regional Integration, Transnational Actors, and Borders
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Latin America, Nicaragua, Caribbean, Haiti, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and Bolivia
9. Crime, citizenship and race: Latin American dilemmas in security doctrine
- Author:
- José Oviedo Pérez
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
- Institution:
- Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
- Abstract:
- Latin America (LA) over the past century has experienced a period of relative interstate peace, free from the bloody wars typically seen in other global regions, such as Europe (CENTENO, 2002; MARES, 2001). The region, however, is also the most violent and unsafe in the world. Los Cabos, Mexico, the deadliest city in the world in 2017, boasts about 111.33 deaths per every 100,000 residents (SEGURIDAD, JUSTICIA Y PAZ, 2018: 3), making many of the region’s urban areas resemble combat zones. This paradoxically results in LA having what some scholars term a “violent” or “hybrid” peace (BATTAGLIO, 2012; MARES, 2001). This article discusses and analyses the historical trajectory that contributed to this development, specifically analyzing post-Cold War security doctrine in the region through a racial lens. Using historical process-tracing and a review of previous academic literature, we describe how the constitution of national identities, as well as state articulations of “citizenship” and “crime,” has resulted in a specific way of viewing and treating afro-descend-ent people across LA. This process has also contributed to the current security crisis across the hemisphere.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, Race, Citizenship, Violence, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
10. Homicides of children and adolescents in Brazil
- Author:
- Julio Jacobo Waiselfisz
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- Brazil is the world's most homicidal country in absolute terms. It also exhibits some of the most prolific lethal violence against children and adolescents. The following assessment demonstrates an exponential increase in the total number and prevalence rate of child and youth homicides between 1980 and 2014 — 476.4% and 485%, respectively. Such violence is not evenly distributed. Several northeastern states exhibit the highest rates of intentional homicide in Brazil, with the most common victims consisting of 16- and 17-year old black males.
- Topic:
- Crime, Children, Youth, and Violence
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and Latin America
11. La terre, entre guerre et paix: Politiques foncières et sortie de conflit en Colombie (Land, from War to Peace: Land Policies and Post-Conflict Situation in Colombia)
- Author:
- Jacobo Grajales
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- Four years after the negotiations started in Havana, 2016 marked the success of the peace talks between the Colombian government and the Farc rebels. Even if during the entire process the outcome was unclear, most political actors did not wait for the actual signature of the agreement to claim results. New public policies have been launched and in the rural and land sector the break with a violent past has been loudly dramatized. Changes conducted in the name of the consolidation of peace do however have more discreet effects. They cause an increased business of land, which risks producing exclusion and dissent in rural areas. Although it is undeniable that the post conflict agenda includes reparation policies for the victims and protection for small farmers, taking advantage of peace as an opportunity for economic development does also trigger interest for territories that are defined as new agrarian frontiers. And so, not only have the agro-industrial exploitation and the commodification of nature become legitimate, but they seem to be part of the social changes that are both made possible by peace, and desirable.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Corruption, Crime, Natural Resources, Political Science, and Emerging States
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
12. Democratization and Other Civil War Legacies in Central America
- Author:
- Fabrice Lehoucq
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes the impact of civil war on regime change. It focuses on Central America, a region where several countries underwent transitions to democracy in the wake of civil war during the second half of the twentieth century. It argues that armed conflict, not increasing levels of economic development, led to political change. Violence liquidated stubbornly resilient autocracies in El Salvador and Nicaragua, catalyzed the democratization of Costa Rican politics, and was the backdrop to regime liberalization in Guatemala. Postwar negotiations, at a time when Cold War bipolarity was ending, led to the establishment of more open, civilian regimes on the isthmus. This paper also notes that the transition from autocracy was enormously costly in both lives and economic well-being, which helps to explain why political change has given birth to low-quality democracies or mixed regimes on the isthmus, ones that also have witnessed the explosion of criminal and drug-related violence.
- Topic:
- Civil War, Crime, Democratization, Development, Regime Change, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
13. Violence in Latin America: FSR Interviews Mónica Serrano
- Author:
- Mónica Serrano
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Mónica Serrano is Professor of International Relations at El Colegio de México, Senior Research Associate at the Centre for International Studies, Oxford University and a Senior Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, CUNY. Between 2008 and 2011, as Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, she worked closely with the UN and other human rights organizations to build momentum behind an emerging international norm to prevent mass atrocities. Dr. Serrano has written extensively on international security, and on the international relations of Latin America, with particular reference to international institutions, security, human rights, transnational crime and civil-military relations.
- Topic:
- Crime, Globalization, Law Enforcement, Financial Crimes, Violence, Interview, International Crime, and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, Latin America, and Mexico
14. Scarcity without Leviathan: The Violent Effects of Cocaine Supply Shortages in the Mexican Drug War
- Author:
- Juan Camilo Castillo, Daniel Mejia, and Pascual Restrepo
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Using the case of the cocaine trade in Mexico as a relevant and salient example, this paper shows that scarcity leads to violence in markets without third party enforcement. We construct a model in which supply shortages increase total revenue when demand is inelastic. If property rights over revenues are not well defined because of the lack of reliable third party enforcement, the incentives to prey on others and avoid predation by exercising violence increase with scarcity, thus increasing violence. We test our model and the proposed channel using data for the cocaine trade in Mexico. We found that exogenous supply shocks originated in changes in the amount of cocaine seized in Colombia (Mexico's main cocaine supplier) create scarcity and increase drug-related violence in Mexico.
- Topic:
- Crime, Economics, War on Drugs, Narcotics Trafficking, and Law Enforcement
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, Latin America, and Mexico
15. Honduras under siege
- Author:
- Roger F. Noriega and José Javier Lanza
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Abstract:
- As stepped-up counternarcotics policies in Colombia and Mexico have increased pressure on regional drug trafficking networks, organized crime syndicates have relocated operations to Central America, where law enforcement agencies and institutions are ill-equipped to withstand the onslaught. These multibillion-dollar gangs are making common cause with some local politicians who are following a playbook honed by Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. The result in Venezuela was the birth of a narcostate, and similar dramas are playing out in Central America. Like Chávez, caudillos are using the democratic process to seek power, weaken institutions, and undermine the rule of law—generating turmoil that accommodates narcotrafficking. Making matters worse for Honduras is that left-wing activists abroad, in support of ousted president and Chávez acolyte Manuel Zelaya, are waging a very public campaign of outlandish claims seeking to block any US assistance to help the Honduran government resist the drug cartels. It is imperative that US policymakers vigorously support democracy, the rule of law, and antidrug programs in Honduras.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, Democratization, War on Drugs, Narcotics Trafficking, and Fragile/Failed State
- Political Geography:
- America, Latin America, and Mexico
16. Justice on trial in Guatemala: The Ríos Montt Case
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Within ten days, Guatemalan courts made and unmade legal history. The trial and conviction of former dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt on 10 May 2013 for genocide and other human rights violations was an extraordinary achievement for a justice system that must grapple simultaneously with the legacy of a vicious internal conflict and the contemporary scourges of gang violence, corruption and illegal drug trafficking. Victims had barely finished celebrating, however, when the Constitutional Court annulled the verdict in a confusing decision that raised questions of outside interference. Widespread impunity for past and present violence continues to have a corrosive effect on the country's democracy. Failure to renew the trial for mass atrocities against Ríos Montt and pursue justice for the victims of violent crime would undermine its halting progress toward rule of law, including a strong independent judiciary.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, Genocide, Human Rights, Narcotics Trafficking, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Guatemala
17. Is Anyone Listening? Does US Foreign Assistance Target People's Top Priorities?
- Author:
- Benjamin Leo
- Publication Date:
- 12-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The United States government has made repeated declarations over the last decade to align its assistance programs behind developing countries' priorities. By utilizing public attitude surveys for 42 African and Latin American countries, this paper examines how well the US has implemented this guiding principle. Building upon the Quality of Official Development Assistance Assessment (QuODA) approach, I identify what people cite most frequently as the 'most pressing problems' facing their nations and then measure the percentage of US assistance commitments that are directed towards addressing them. By focusing on public surveys over time, this analysis attempts to provide a more nuanced and targeted examination of whether US portfolios are addressing what people care the most about. As reference points, I compare US alignment trends with the two regional multilateral development banks (MDBs) – the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Overall, this analysis suggests that US assistance may be only modestly aligned with what people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America cite as their nation's most pressing problems. By comparison, the African Development Bank – which is majority-led by regional member nations – performs significantly better than the United States. Like the United States, however, the Inter-American Development Bank demonstrates a low relative level of support for people's top concerns.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, Development, Economics, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, America, and Latin America
18. Illicit Americas: Historical Dynamics of Smuggling in U.S. Relations with Its Neighbors
- Author:
- Peter Andreas
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- The proliferation of illicit cross-border flows in the Americas—ranging from unauthorized migrant workers and psychoactive substances to arms and dirty money—is often portrayed as an alarming and unprecedented challenge to borders and government authority in the region.1 Policing such border flows has also become an increasingly prominent (and sometimes highly divisive) issue in U.S. relations with its neighbors, as Washington has pushed for tighter border controls and more intensive crackdowns on smuggling.
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Crime, Migration, Narcotics Trafficking, and Border Control
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Washington, Latin America, and North America
19. Dangerous Work: Violence Against Mexico's Journalists and Lessons from Colombia
- Author:
- Douglas Farah
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Abstract:
- The job of Mexican journalists covering drug trafficking and organized crime along the Mexico- U.S. border has regularly been called the most dangerous job in the world. And the danger has spread from journalists for traditional media to bloggers and citizens who post reports on drug cartel violence through social media such as Twitter and Facebook. The danger is not just from drug cartels, however. Journalists often identified local politicians and police– frequently in the pay of the cartels– as the source of most of the threats.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Crime, Mass Media, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, Latin America, and Mexico
20. Countering Criminal Violence in Central America
- Author:
- Michael Shifter
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Central America is increasingly beset by spreading criminal violence. In the northern triangle—Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala—insecurity is particularly severe and widespread. In 2010, these countries ranked among the highest homicide rates (per one hundred thousand people) in the world: Honduras with eighty-two, El Salvador with sixty- six, and Guatemala with forty-one; in comparison, the homicide rate in the United States was less than five. The toll has been considerable, tallying nearly seventeen thousand murders in the northern triangle in 2011 and showing no signs of abating. The other four Central American states have also witnessed both heightened domestic insecurity and rising rates of crime and violence.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Corruption, Crime, War on Drugs, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Central America
21. Police Reform in Guatemala: Obstacles and Opportunities
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The 25,000 members of the National Civil Police (PNC) are on the front lines of Guatemala's battle against crime. But all too often citizens distrust and fear the police – widely dismissed as inefficient, corrupt and abusive – as much as the criminals. Underfunded, poorly trained and often out-gunned, they are frequently incapable or unwilling to con-front criminals and gain the public trust needed to build a state based on rule of law. Drug traffickers, including Mex-ican cartels, move at will across porous borders, while criminal gangs dominate many urban areas. The government of President Otto Pérez Molina must reboot and revitalise police reform, as part of an overall effort to strengthen justice and law enforcement, with financial support from the U.S. and other countries interested in preventing Guatemala from becoming a haven for organised crime. Progress has been made, but achievements are fragile and easily reversed.
- Topic:
- Security, Corruption, Crime, and Law Enforcement
- Political Geography:
- United States and Latin America
22. In Transit: Gangs and Criminal Networks in Guyana
- Author:
- Taylor Owen and Alexandre Grigsby
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Small Arms Survey
- Abstract:
- Guyana is an anomaly in South America. As the only English-speaking country on the continent, Guyana identifies primarily with its fellow former British colonies in the Caribbean, such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, rather than its immediate Hispanic, Portuguese, and Dutch neighbours (Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname). Relative to other South American states, Guyana's population is small—only 750, 000 people, 90 per cent of whom live along the Atlantic coast—leaving the country's vast interior sparsely populated (Mars, 2010,. Georgetown, the country's capital, is Guyana's largest city with just over 200, 000 people, followed by the cities of Linden and New Amsterdam, with about 410, 000 and 18, 500 inhabitants, respectively.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Arms Control and Proliferation, Crime, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Guyana
23. Violence and Politics in Venezuela
- Publication Date:
- 08-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Every half hour, a person is killed in Venezuela. The presence of organised crime combined with an enormous number of firearms in civilian hands and impunity, as well as police corruption and brutality, have entrenched violence in society. While such problems did not begin with President Hugo Chávez, his government has to account for its ambiguity towards various armed groups, its inability or unwillingness to tackle corruption and criminal complicity in parts of the security forces, its policy to arm civilians “in defence of the revolution”, and – last but not least – the president's own confrontational rhetoric. Positive steps such as constructive engagement with Colombia as well as some limited security reform do not compensate for these failures. While the prospect of presidential elections in 2012 could postpone social explosion, the deterioration of the president's health has added considerable uncertainty. In any event, the degree of polarisation and militarisation in society is likely to undermine the chances for either a non-violent continuation of the current regime or a peaceful transition to a post-Chávez era.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Corruption, and Crime
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Venezuela
24. Cutting the Link between Crime and Local Politics: Colombia's 2011 Elections
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Deeply entrenched connections between criminal and political actors are a major obstacle to conflict resolution in Colombia. Illegal armed groups seek to consolidate and expand their holds over local governments in the October 2011 governorship, mayoral, departmental assembly and municipal council elections. The national government appears more willing and better prepared than in the past to curb the influence of illegal actors on the elections, but the challenges remain huge. The high number of killed prospective candidates bodes ill for the campaign, suggesting that the decade-old trend of decreasing electoral violence could be reversed. There are substantial risks that a variety of additional means, including intimidation and illegal money, will be used to influence outcomes. The government must rigorously implement additional measures to protect candidates and shield the electoral process against criminal infiltration, corruption and fraud. Failure to mitigate these risks would mean in many places four more years of poor local governance, high levels of corruption and enduring violence.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Corruption, Crime, Democratization, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
25. Cocaine Cities: Exploring the Relationship between Urban Processes and the Drug Trade in South America
- Author:
- Ignacio A. Navarro
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The relationship between the cocaine trade and urban land markets in South America has been overlooked by the mainstream economics and urban studies literature. This paper examines two avenues through which the cocaine trade can have a large impact on urban development in producer countries: (i) through an employment multiplier effect similar to that of other legal exports, and (ii) through money laundering using urban real estate. We test our hypotheses using the Bolivian case and find that urban growth patterns are closely related to fluctuations in cocaine production. Further, even though our estimates suggest that the cocaine trade affects urban growth through the two avenues presented in the paper, we find that formal urban employment generated by the cocaine trade has a modest effect on urban growth and most of the effect seems to be explained by money laundering using real estate and other paths.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, Narcotics Trafficking, and Urbanization
- Political Geography:
- South America and Latin America
26. Analyzing Post-Conflict Justice and Islamic Law
- Author:
- Whitney Parker, Scott Worden, Shani Ross, and Sahar Azar
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Post-conflict justice mechanisms such as truth commissions, war crimes tribunals and reparations programs have emerged as a fundamental building block of durable peace settlements in Latin America, Africa and Asia. They are relatively rare, however, in Muslim countries recovering from conflict-despite the fact that social and criminal justice is a fundamental principle of Islamic law.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Crime, Islam, War, Law Enforcement, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Asia, Arabia, and Latin America
27. Cocaine and Instability in Africa: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean
- Author:
- Davin O'Regan
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- The dollar value of cocaine trafficked through West Africa has risen rapidly and surpassed all other illicit commodities smuggled in the subregion. Experience from Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrates that cocaine traffic contributes to dra¬matically higher levels of violence and instability. Co-opting key government officials is the preferred modus operandi of Latin American cocaine traf¬fickers. African governments need to act urgently to protect the integrity of their counternarcotics institutions to prevent this threat from developing deeper roots on the continent.
- Topic:
- Crime and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean
28. Guatemala: Squeezed between Crime and Impunity
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The 1996 peace accords formally ended Guatemala's civil war but failure to address the conflict's root causes and dismantle clandestine security apparatuses has weakened its institutions and opened the door to skyrocketing violent crime. Guatemala is one of the world's most dangerous countries, with some 6,500 murders in 2009, more than the average yearly killings during the civil war and roughly twice Mexico's homicide rate. Under heavy pressure at home, Mexican drug traffickers have moved into Guatemala to compete for control of Andean cocaine transiting to the U.S. The UN-sanctioned International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) has brought hope by making some progress at getting a handle on high-level corruption. However, in June 2010 its Spanish director, Carlos Castresana, resigned saying the government had not kept its promise to support CICIG's work and reform the justice system. President Álvaro Colom needs to consolidate recent gains with institutional reform, anti-corruption measures, vetting mechanisms and a more inclusive political approach, including to indigenous peoples.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, and Crime
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
29. Reforming the Inter-American Defense Board
- Author:
- John A. Cope
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- The Western Hemisphere's delegations to the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) should represent and be responsible to ministers of defense or their equivalents, rather than to the armed forces, as is the case in most countries in the Americas today. This breakthrough reform would bring the Board in line with democratic constitutional practices, strengthen Organization of American States (OAS) support for democracy, and help implement the 2003 Mexico City “Declaration on Security in the Americas,” which adopted a broadened multidimensional view of security. The reform could be accomplished without change to the March 2006 statutes and would bring the Board into the OAS General Secretariat associated with the Secretariat on Multidimensional Security.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Civil Society, and Crime
- Political Geography:
- United States and Latin America
30. Sustainable security in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Author:
- Ben Zala
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- This report summarises the analysis from a consultation of specialists on Latin America and the Caribbean applying the concept of sustainable security at a regional level. Hosted by Oxford Research Group (ORG) and the Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre (Noref), the recommendations include: Addressing political fragmentation in order to provide the capacity to respond effectively to the security challenges of climate change, militarisation and increasingly marginalised populations. A number of regional powers - particularly Brazil - are well placed to provide leadership but it would require a national consensus on a regional leadership role at a time when Brazil's focus is on developing a stronger global role; Initiatives such as the South American Defence Council should be given top priority in foreign and defence policies and their institutionalisation should be adequately funded and supported by all member states; New policy options are needed in the short-medium term to combat increasing environmental stresses and resource depletion; States across the region need to regain public confidence in relation to their ability to meet the security needs of their populations without resorting to military force. This will need to include steps to de-militarise the police, intelligence agencies and policies to limit the general remit as well as specific missions of the armed forces; Over the next 5-10 years, a radical shift towards sustainable approaches to security will be hugely important. If there is no change in thinking, security policies will continue to be based on the assumption that an elite minority can maintain its position, environmental problems can be marginalised, and the lid can be kept on dissent and insecurity.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, and Crime
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, South America, Latin America, and Caribbean
31. Gangs, Drugs, Terrorism— and Information-sharing
- Author:
- Greg Gardner and Robert Killebrew
- Publication Date:
- 08-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- The conflict in Mexico between the government and criminal drug cartels has been in the news lately, particularly because of the horrific levels of violence and its proximity to our border. The U.S. Government is increasingly concerned, and President Barack Obama has turned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for options to provide timely support to Mexico. But the “cartel war” in Mexico, which is increasingly spilling into the United States, is just the latest, most visible indicator of steadily deteriorating civil order south of the border.
- Topic:
- Crime, Terrorism, War on Drugs, Counterinsurgency, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, and Mexico