Corruption

The ‘Global Power Competition – Transnational Organised Crime’ Nexus: Lessons from Michoacán

7 Mar, 2023
Fausto Carbajal Glass

How does strategic competition between the United States and China influence the evolution of transnational organised crime in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)? Although it is becoming increasingly visible, the “global power competition – transnational organised crime’ nexus remains unexplored in national and international scholarship as well as in…

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What the Illicit Activities of Militias Can Tell Us About the True Nature of States

17 Aug, 2022
Nicholas Pope

Relationships between states and militias – also understood as paramilitaries, self-defence groups, vigilantes, and other, more localised terms – can be difficult for analysts to make sense of. This is partially because there is huge variation across space and time in the form of the relationships. But it is also…

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My Enemy’s Enemy is my Friend: Polarisation, Stigmatisation, and Political Violence in Colombia

26 May, 2022
Genevieve Kotarska

As we approach Colombia’s election season, the prospect of an increase in political violence is at the front of many analysts’ minds. Colombia’s elections have often been bloody; five presidential candidates were assassinated in the 20th Century alone. Just a few years ago seven candidates were killed during the municipal…

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A New Era in the War on Drugs? Between the Lines of the US-Colombia Bicentennial Partnership

18 Mar, 2022
Genevieve Kotarska

Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1822, Colombia has become one of the United States’ (US’s) most important partners in Latin America. Collaboration notwithstanding, Colombia’s prominent role as a cultivator of coca, the base product for cocaine, has pushed counternarcotics policies centred on supply reduction to the forefront of this relationship.…

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Violent Elections in Mexico: Why do they Matter?

1 Sep, 2021
Ana Velasco

One hundred and one politicians were assassinated during the latest electoral process in Mexico. This is the second consecutive election in the country that has suffered from widespread violence. Researchers registered a total of 1066 attacks: an increase of more than 38% relative to the previous 2018 election. Why have…

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