Citizen Security
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Latin America has weathered the worldwide recession admirably, and inter-regional trade and investment ties are becoming ever stronger, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza said in a recap of last week's Summit of the Americas. more
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Citizen insecurity poses a rising challenge to democratic governance and the exercise of citizenship throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Homicide rates are among the highest in the world and citizens throughout the region cite crime, followed by unemployment, as the dominant concern of daily life. Transnational organized crime, including but not limited to narco-trafficking, exacerbates levels of violence, compromises state institutions, and undermines democratic quality and the rule of law.more
Resources
Seguridad ciudadana en las Américas
The blog, created and maintained by the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, serves to bring attention to the work of researchers, security specialists, journalists, civil society organizations and politicians throughout the region. more
Citizen Security in the Americas: An Analysis of Trends and Public Policies
The Latin American Program is pleased to release a reference guide to papers related to its work on citizen security. These papers have been written by regional experts for four conferences on citizen security in 2009 and 2010.
Citizen Security in the Americas: Quick Reference Guide - English
Citizen Security in the Americas: Quick Reference Guide - Spanish
Organized Crime in Central America: The Northern Triangle
This publication seeks to create a better understanding of the nature, origins, and evolution of organized crime in Central America by examining the dynamics of organized crime in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—as well as the broader regional context. more
Justice Reform in Latin America: Why Is It So Difficult?
May 1, 2012 // 9:00am — 11:30am
Efforts to strengthen the rule of law and reform judicial systems have been underway in Latin America for well over 25 years. Yet despite significant expenditures, failures seem more numerous than successes and the difficulties appear at times to be overwhelming. What has been learned over the past several decades about the necessary ingredients for successful reforms? What are the opportunities to produce real change and what are the obstacles? more
Reducing Murder Rates in Central America: Searching for Practical Solutions
April 19, 2012 // 11:00am — 1:00pm
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and INCAE Business School, along with their supporting partners The World Bank, the U.S. Department of State, and the Central American Private Sector Initiative (CAPSI) hosted a discussion on reducing murder rates in Central America.more
Drug Policy and Democracy in Central America: A View from Guatemala
March 29, 2012 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
Secretary Fernando Carrera discussed recent proposals made by Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina regarding drug legalization.more
Organized Crime in Central America: The Northern Triangle
Focusing on El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, this report's authors investigate the challenge organized crime poses to the state, its institutions, and governability. This publication is part of a series on the sub-regional dynamics of organized crime, focusing especially on the linkages between Central America, Mexico, and the Andean region as well as the growing insertion of Latin America in global transnational crime networks. more
Mafia & Co.: The Criminal Networks in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia
An analytical perspective of the inner workings and expansion of organized crime in three Latin American countries. Garzón, a Colombian political scientist, provides a comparative investigation looking specifically at criminal networks in Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. Published by Planeta, this book was published in August 2008, with the support of the Fundación Seguridad y Democracia and the Open Society Institute. more
Chronic Violence and its Reproduction: Perverse Trends in Social Relations, Citizenship, and Democracy in Latin America
This report reviews a broad literature on the causes and social effects of chronic violence in Latin America – particularly in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and the Caribbean – and details the consistent and diverse ways that chronic violence undermines social relations and support for democracy. more
