Perspectives on Democracy and Insecurity in Central America

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Violence and insecurity have had a significant impact not only on the daily lives of Central Americans, but on the quality of democracy in the region as well. Crime and insecurity have been serious problems in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras for more than a decade, as primarily expressed through elevated homicide rates. Costa Rica has also been experiencing rising rates of crime insecurity in recent years. Nicaragua is the only country in the isthmus where crimes rates had been declining, but the current political crisis reveals new forms of insecurity. Public opinion polls and survey research, such as the AmericasBarometer survey, demonstrate a very clear relationship between levels of crime (particularly being a victim of a crime or perceiving high levels of crime) and decreased support for democratic norms, including support for coups, extralegal measures to deal with crime, and satisfaction with democracy. As the regional insecurity persists, so do the threats to democratic norms and practices.

Our panel will explore the relationship between insecurity and democracy in the region from various perspectives, including the impact of NGO-led support for victims of crime and violence, how crime and insecurity determine levels of trust in the military, the symbiotic relationship between elite capture and insecurity, and the extent to which the state has been co-opted by corruption by criminal organizations which, in turn, undermines trust in institutions undermines efforts to deal with crime and insecurity.

Sub Track

• Violence and Insecurities

Session Organizer

• Orlando J Pérez, Millersville University

Chair

• Christine J Wade, Washington College

Discussant

• Jonathan D Rosen, Holy Family University

Individual Presentations

• Democracy and (In)security in Central America: Measuring the Impact of Trust in the Armed Forces - Orlando J Pérez, Millersville University

• Elite Capture and Insecurity in Central America - Christine J Wade, Washington College

• Specializing Justice: NGOs, Femicide, and Access to Justice in Latin America - Veronica Michel, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (CUNY); Shannon Drysdale Walsh, University of Minnesota, Duluth

• Insecurity, Violence, and the Co-optation of the State in Central America - Adriana M Beltrán, Washington Office on Latin America