Violence(In)Security:LatAmer

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Violence and (in)security in Latin America The seminar will explore the manifestations of collective violence in Latin American countries and the role that violence has played in the configuration of the Latin American state. We will examine various manifestations of social, political and criminal violence and their impact on states and societies. We will examine Latin American case studies that contribute to understanding pervasive sources of violence, the structuring of protection rackets, illegal economic bonanzas and criminal governance, amongst others. We will also explore case studies shining light on grey zones of the state-crime relation. As violence and insecurity are identified as one of the pressing issues in most national political settings in Latin America, security and criminal policy responses have been abundant. They vary in focus and scope, and, most of them, have been ineffective. We will survey some of these responses over time and analyze current manifestations, including selective enforcement, hard line approaches to security and negotiations. Course reading draws on relevant literatures in social sciences, law and investigative journalism. Complementarily, films (fiction and documentary) will be used to offer a human dimension of the problems being analyzed. The course is organized as a research seminar for graduate students. Participants will have to define a research topic based on areas addressed in class or closely related to the issues debated. All research papers should address practical or theoretical dimensions of violence and security, in a particular national setting, through a comparative exercise, through thematic exploration, or in the context of international law and institutions.