Cultura Ciudadana: Violence and Insecurity in Contemporary Colombia

• In Event: Evolving Conceptions of Violence and Security in Latin America

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyzes citizen culture (cultura ciudadana), an innovative crime reduction policy that developed in Bogotá, Colombia in 1995. Citizen culture departs from the premise that the state is unable to provide security for its inhabitants given the existence of a culture of violence. The policy encourages citizens to assume responsibility for their own security provision by adopting a culture of citizenship. In this paper I argue that citizen culture functions to legitimize the state despite ongoing violence by transferring responsibility for security provision from the state to civil society. The policy is widely seen as successful and has been replicated across the Western hemisphere. Based on extensive field research between 2001-2011, elite interviews, and direct observation, I identify the core tenets of citizen culture, explore local narratives of the policy, and explain how it functions to legitimize the state. This study contributes to our understanding of urban security policies and contemporary states.

Author

• Stacey L Hunt, Auburn University