Violent Governance, Identity and the Production of Legitimacy: Autodefensas in Latin America

This article examines the intersections of violence, governance, identity and legitimacy in relation to autodefensas (self-defence groups) in Latin America, focusing on Mexico and Colombia. By shifting focus from the question of where legitimacy lies to how it is produced and contested by a range of groups, we challenge the often presumed link between the state and legitimacy. We develop the idea of a field of negotiation and contestation, firstly, to discuss and critique the concept of state failure as not merely a Western hegemonic claim but also a strategic means of producing legitimacy by autodefensas. Secondly, we employ and enrich the notion of violent pluralism to discuss the pervasiveness of violence and the role of neoliberalism, and to address the question of non-violent practices of governance. We argue that the idea of a field of contestation and negotiation helps to understand the complexity of relationships that encompass the production of legitimacy and identity through (non)violent governance, whereby lines between (non)state, (non)violence, and (il)legitimacy blur and transform. Yet, we do not simply dismiss (binary) distinctions as these continue to be employed by groups in their efforts to produce, justify, challenge, contest and negotiate their own and others’ legitimacy and identity

2004: Strengthening citizenship in Brazil’s democracy: Local participatory governance in Porto alegre

In Latin America, and particularly Brazil, inequality and social exclusion continue to plague the quality of democracy despite two decades of transition and consolidation. Still, in Brazil, the Workers' Party has been remarkably successful over the past decade, explicitly addressing the problem of social exclusion and`incomplete citizenship'. This paper provides an analysis of the case of Porto Alegre covering the four Workers' Party municipal administrations from 1989 to the present in order to assess the significance of social incorporation and citizenship for the quality of democracy in Brazil. The paper discusses some conceptual notions that are relevant for the question of democracy in Brazil, particularly the role of citizenship and civil society in`deepening' democracy. Then the paper goes into the evolution and dynamics of Porto Alegre's system of`participatory budgeting'. The paper's assessment of this experience with respect to its performance, depth and robustness shows that`participatory budgeting' has had positive effects with respect to the provision of public goods services, the quality of governance, and citizens' participation in what is seen as a new`public space' shared by the local state and grass roots organisations. The paper concludes by relating the case experience to the question of citizenship, civil society and democracy and by reflecting upon its wider implications for the current and future quality of democracy in Brazil

The Conundrum of Violence and Insecurity in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro

Favela. Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro, by Janice Perlman. Oxford University Press, 2010.Hard Times in the Marvelous City. From Dictatorship to Democracy in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, by Bryan McCann. Duke University Press, 2014.Todo Dia É Segunda Feira, by José Mariano Beltrame (with Sérgio Garcia and Eliane Azevedo). Sextante, 2014.Unidades de Polícia Pacificadora: Debate e Reflexões, edited by André Rodrigues, Raíza Siqueira, and Mauricio Lissovski. ISER – Comunicações do ISER 31(67) (December), 2012

The Conundrum of Violence and Insecurity in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro

Favela. Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro, by Janice Perlman. Oxford University Press, 2010.Hard Times in the Marvelous City. From Dictatorship to Democracy in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, by Bryan McCann. Duke University Press, 2014.Todo Dia É Segunda Feira, by José Mariano Beltrame (with Sérgio Garcia and Eliane Azevedo). Sextante, 2014.Unidades de Polícia Pacificadora: Debate e Reflexões, edited by André Rodrigues, Raíza Siqueira, and Mauricio Lissovski. ISER – Comunicações do ISER 31(67) (December), 2012

Fuerzas Armadas y política en América Latina: perspectivas futuras

Llama la atención que durante todo el siglo XX, las Fuerzas Armadas latinoamericanas raramente hayan tenido que enfrentarse con ejércitos externos en guerras regulares. Casi sin excepción, los enfrentamientos militares en el continente se han reducido a conflictos limitados, choques fronterizos o campañas de poca magnitud. Al comienzo del siglo XXI, se hace prácticamente inimaginable el inicio de guerras de larga escala entre Brasil y Paraguay, Argentina y Chile, o entre México y Guatemala, por nombrar sólo algunos ejemplos. Por el contrario, las batallas de los soldados profesionales en América Latina se han desarrollado casi exclusivamente en el terreno de “guerras internas” o “conflictos irregulares” en contra de adversarios “subversivos” o “terroristas”, como ha sido el caso de contingentes guerrilleros o campesinos insurgentes. Efectivamente, el verdadero significado de las Fuerzas Armadas latinoamericanas yace en su naturaleza política

Social Protest against Repression and Violence in Present-day Argentina and Peru

nn