City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Criminal enterprises and governance in Latin America and the Caribbean, Enrique Desmond Arias, George Mason University

eng

index present

non fiction

Criminal enterprises and governance in Latin America and the Caribbean

dictionaries

Enrique Desmond Arias, George Mason University

This book examines security in three cities that suffer from chronic violence: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Medellin, Colombia; and Kingston, Jamaica. In each, democratic states contend with subnational armed groups that dominate territory and play important roles in politics even as they contribute to fear and insecurity. Through a nested three-city six-neighborhood analysis of the role of criminal groups in governance, this research provides a deep understanding of the impact of crime on political experience. Neighborhoods controlled by different types of armed actors, operating in the same institutional context, build alliances with state officials and participate in political life through the structures created by these armed actors. The data demonstrate the effects criminal dominance can have on security, civil society, elections, and policymaking. Far from reflecting a breakdown of order, varying types of criminal groups generate different local lived political experiences

Introduction: conflict and governance patterns in Latin America and the Caribbean -- Constellations of governance: theoretical approaches to micro-level armed regimes -- Poverty, popular incorporation, and armed groups in Latin America and the Caribbean -- The structure of micro-level armed regimes -- Security systems in areas subject to micro-level armed regimes -- Armed groups, civil society, and social mobilization -- The impact of armed dominance on elections -- Policy process amid armed organizations -- Conclusion: things change (and they stay the same): understanding the politics of micro-level armed regimes