Criminal Enterprises and Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean

Through a three-city, six-neighborhood nested study of areas controlled by criminal groups in Latin America and the Caribbean, this book provides a comparative examination of how different types of criminal groups create varied local political systems even under the same institutional, economic, and social conditions that exist in particular cities.

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 demonstrates 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.