Violence in the Americas: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This panel examines different aspects of violence in Latin America, focusing on the analysis of potential regional variation in the patterns and types of violence, but also examining the causes and consequences of this violence. Despite the fact that Latin America has a much higher homicide rate than other areas of the world, there are Latin American countries in which these rates are low or decreasing, while in other places the rate is high and increasing. Further, in large countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, there is wide subnational variation. Adding to this complexity, different types of violence challenge conventional categories of criminal or political violence, and also challenge existing theoretical propositions about the causes and effects of violence. These regional and subnational differences, coupled with variation across types of violence, suggest that existing explanations of the sources and effects of violence may be incomplete, or that local factors condition explanations in meaningful and under-examined ways. The panel addresses these lacunae by gathering recent and ongoing research on the regional and subnational patterns, causes, and consequences of violence, including data on different types of violence, contributing to our understanding of this important phenomenon that has broad implications for public health, development, and the quality of democracy.

Sub Track

• Defense, Violence, and (In)security

Session Organizer

• Matthew C Ingram, University at Albany, SUNY

Chair

• David A Shirk, University of San Diego

Individual Presentations

• The Positive Effect of Social Spending on Reducing Crime: Evidence from Latin America from 2000-2010. - Justin Lance, Presbyterian College

• Neighborhood-Level Political Orders, Gang Structures, and Popular Incorporation in Latin America and the Caribbean - Enrique Desmond Arias, George Mason University

• Geographies of Violence in Brazil: A Spatial, Municipal-level Analysis of Varieties of Homicide - Matthew C Ingram, University at Albany, SUNY; Marcelo Marchesini da Costa, University at Albany, SUNY

• El Nopal Envenenado: The Social Roots of Organized Crime and Violence in Mexico - David A Shirk, University of San Diego

• The Victim’s Dilemma: Denouncing Crime When the State Is Infiltrated by Organized Crime - Guillermo Trejo, University of Notre Dame

Discussant

• Francisco Javier Osorio Zago, John Jay College, CUNY