This edited collection explores the politics of crime and violence in Latin America through both theoretical reflections as well as several detailed case studies based on empirical, primary research. Its overall aim is to explore common misperceptions and simplifications which are often found in political discourses, policy documentation, as well as some academic work. These simplifications include a focus on gangs, narrow understandings of organized criminal groups and the knock-on effect that such a focus has on policy making. Instead, the chapters in this book shift the reader’s gaze to more structural explanations and analytical approaches, moving them towards an understanding of how wider historical, economic, cultural and even psychological issues impact the complex relationships between crime, violence, and politics in the region. The detailed case studies also allow for a unique comparative analysis of problems faced throughout the region. While significant differences exist, analysis of the case studies reveals common issues, problems, and debates between countries (including structural violence, militarization, and neo-liberalism). These “golden threads” reveal not only the complexity of crime and violence in the region but also expose the failure of the overly simple “gangsterism” discourse found elsewhere. Finally, and importantly, several of the chapters explore the politics of policy making in relation to these problems, shedding light on the complex reasons for policy failures and highlighting innovative opportunities for change. Whilst shedding light on current problems in the region the book also offers a range of analytical approaches for exploring other cases where crime, violence, and politics collide.

Crime and violence inflict high and rising costs on the private sector, equivalent to several points of GDP loss. In light manufacturing, international purchasers quickly shift know-how and capital to less violent destinations and behind the statistics are human costs: lost jobs, working capital spent on security, contraband, fraud and corruption.

Critiquing the valorization of democracy as a means of containing violence and stabilizing political contestation, this book draws links between the democratization process and sexual/gendered violence observed against women during electioneering periods in Kenya. The book shows the contradictory relationship between democracy and gendered violence as being largely influenced in the first instance by the capitalist interests vested in the colonial state and its imperative to exploit laboring women; secondly, in the nature of the postcolonial state and politics largely captured by ethnic, bourgeois class interests; and third, influenced by neoliberal political ideology that has remained largely disarticulated from women's structural positions in Kenyan society. It argues that colonial capitalist interests established certain patterns of gender exploitation that extended into the postcolonial period such that the indigenous bourgeoisie took the form of an ethnicized elite. Ethnicity shaped politics and neoliberal political ideology further blocked women’s integration into politics in substantive ways. It concludes that it is not so much the norms and values of liberal democracy that assist in understanding women’s exclusion, but rather the structural dynamics that have shaped women’s experiences of democratic politics. In this way, gender violence in the context of democratization and electoral violence with its gendered manifestation can be fully understood as deeply embedded in the history of the structural dynamics of colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchalism in Kenya.

From the deserts of Sudan to the jungles of Colombia, from the streets of Belfast to the mountains of Kurdistan, paramilitaries have appeared in violent conflicts. Ungor presents a comparative and global overview of paramilitarism, showing how states use it to successfully outsource mass political violence against civilians.

“Excellent, readable, and absorbing history . . . gives us a better understanding of this compelling aspect of the Civil War.” —Library Journal Families, communities, and the nation itself were irretrievably altered by the Civil War and the subsequent societal transformations of the nineteenth century. The repercussions of the war incited a broad range of unique problems in Appalachia, including political dynamics, racial prejudices, and the regional economy. This anthology of essays reveals life in Appalachia after the ravages of the Civil War, an unexplored area that has left a void in historical literature. Addressing a gap in the chronicles of our nation, this vital collection explores little-known aspects of history with a particular focus on the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction periods. Acclaimed scholars John C. Inscoe, Gordon B. McKinney, and Ken Fones-Wolf are joined by up-and-comers like Mary Ella Engel, Anne E. Marshall, and Kyle Osborn in a unique volume investigating postwar Appalachia with clarity and precision. Featuring a broad geographic focus, the compelling essays cover postwar events in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. This approach provides an intimate portrait of Appalachia as a diverse collection of communities where the values of place and family are of crucial importance. Highlighting a wide array of topics including racial reconciliation, tension between former Unionists and Confederates, the evolution of post—Civil War memory, and altered perceptions of race, gender, and economic status, Reconstructing Appalachia is a timely and essential study of a region rich in heritage and tradition. “Outstanding.” —North Carolina Historical Review

This book explores the roles that control, abuse, bullying and family violence can play within the tourism system. While it is generally understood that such behaviours are significant issues in society, the correlation between these types of behaviour and tourism has not been assessed in scholarly circles. The volume sets out to explain each of these behaviours within tourism industries using autoethnography as its method. This book reveals the heightened risk of family violence during family events, sporting events and in the tourism system, and explains that risks continue and can even increase after separating from a perpetrator of family violence. This is an important and under-researched area in the tourism and events literature and will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in these fields, as well as family violence, social work, health and law. You can see the author's blog post about her work here: https://channelviewpublications.wordpress.com/2023/03/22/the-dark-side-of-family-tourism/

How do mafias work? How do they recruit people, control members, conduct legal and illegal business, and use violence? Why do they establish such a complex mix of rituals, rules, and codes of conduct? And how do they differ? Why do some mafias commit many more murders than others? This book makes sense of mafias as organizations, via a collative analysis of historical accounts, official data, investigative sources, and interviews. Catino presents a comparative study of seven mafias around the world, from three Italian mafias to the American Cosa Nostra, Japanese Yakuza, Chinese Triads, and Russian mafia. He identifies the organizational architecture that characterizes these criminal groups, and relates different organizational models to the use of violence. Furthermore, he advances a theory on the specific functionality of mafia rules and discusses the major organizational dilemmas that mafias face. This book shows that understanding the organizational logic of mafias is an indispensable step in confronting them.

This book is a result of public dialogue forums in pursuit of accountable and transparent governance in Kenya organized by Twaweza Communications with the support of Ford Foundation. From the convenings it was evident that the stability of Kenya will be driven by the extent to which citizens feel fully included in the development agenda. Quite often, political leaders view the role of citizens in governance as restricted primarily to their participation in the electoral process. This narrow view has led to arrogance and total disregard of citizens after poll results are announced. Under the new political dispensation heralded by the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya on August 27, 2010 this trend must change and the sovereignty of the people, in theory and practice, must be reinscribed. The publication raises important issues worth serious reflection. It also suggests ways in which citizens can better participate in their own transformation. Case studies highlighted in the book exemplify the importance building the Kenyan nation by addressing patterns of exclusion and glaring inequalities. The topics covered include multipartism, natural resource governance, gender, politics of identity, marginalization of Coastal Kenya, youth empowerment and investing in knowledge economy among others. The book is a valuable addition to our understanding of the root political and social anxieties in Kenya and how these could be ameliorated.

This volume connects the study of statebuilding to broader aspects of social theory and the historical study of the state, bringing forth new questions and starting-points, both academically and practically, for the field. Building states has become a highly prioritized issue in international politics. Since the 1990s, mainly Western countries and international institutions have invested large sums of money, vast amounts of manpower, and considerable political capital in ventures of this kind all across the globe. Most of the focus in current literature is on the acute cases, such as Afghanistan and Iraq, but also to states that seem to fit the label ‘failed states’ such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia. This book brings together a diverse group of scholars who introduce new theoretical approaches from the broader social sciences. The chapters revisit historical cases of statebuilding, and provide thought-provoking, new strategic perspectives on the field. The result is a volume that broadens and deepens our understanding of statebuilding by highlighting the importance of hybridity, contingency and history in a broad range of case-studies. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding and intervention, peacebuilding, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR in general.