742 - Transnational Security Governance and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean

19.07.2012 | 08:00 - 13:30

Convener 1: Braig, Marianne (Lateinamerika Institut, Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin, Germany / Deutschland)
Convener 2: Maihold, Günther (Germany / Deutschland)

In the last three decades Latin America has experienced an unprecedented upsurge in violent crime. Ranging from youth gangs to drug cartels and renegade-military groups, diverse violent actors have posed a serious threat to public security throughout the region. The panel offers an empirically saturated look at specific configurations of security governance at regional, country, and local level. Unlike one-size-fits-all explanations, empirically grounded studies from the fields of anthropology, political science, sociology and history will allow for a nuanced understanding of actual patterns of (in)security production. The central focus of the panel will lie on the transnational dimension of security governance, and, in particular, the effects of external governance interventions in the region. Cases included the Mérida Initiative, and the Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), among others. The panel will also approach the relatively under-researched aspect of money-laundering, through a discussion of the operations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in the region.

Keywords: Security governance, organized crime