Violence is commonly viewed
as an inherent attribute of the drug trade. Yet, there is dramatic variation in
drug violence within countries afflicted by drug trafficking. T
his article
advances a novel framework that explains how the interaction between two critical
variables, the cohesion of the state security apparatus, and the competition in
the illegal market determines traffickers’ incentives to employ violence.
The
analysis introduces a generally overlooked dimension of violence, its
visibility. Visibility refers to whether traffickers publicly expose their use
of violence or claim responsibility for their attacks.
Drawing on fieldwork in
five cities in Colombia and Mexico (Cali, Medellin, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán,
and Tijuana), 175 interviews, and a new data set on drug violence, I argue that
violence becomes visible and frequent when trafficking organizations compete
and the state security apparatus is fragmented.
By contrast, violence becomes
less visible and less frequent when the criminal market is monopolized and the
state security apparatus is cohesive.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/ooBLH9
- Angelica Duran-Martinez, Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts–Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA. Email: angelica_duranmartinez@uml.edu
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