Violence(In)Security:LatAmer

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Citizen security, taken to mean the protection of individual persons, property, and democratic institutions, from threats posed by crime, corruption, and natural disaster is among the most pressing concerns throughout most of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a leading obstacle to high-quality democracy in the region. Following overview sessions about theory and data, the course focuses mainly on threats posed by various types of crime, common and organized, violent and nonviolent. Our orienting questions are: What explanations are given to account for trends in different types of crime in different national and local settings? What are effects of crime on democratic governance? What types of government and civil society responses appear effective in controlling crime? What responses worsen crime?