Think Piece No. 4: Security Perspectives in Latin America

Francine Jácome

Francine Jácome provides an overview of the multifaceted security landscape in Latin America. While acknowledging regional differences and the existence of (sub-)regional organizations, she argues that security threats continue to be dealt with primarily on the national level, especially since most of them stem from non-state actors such as organized crime networks. But state-actors add to the problems on the domestic level, too, for example in highly militarized countries and/or in those where authoritarian governments are on the rise.

Bild: Cover der Publikation; Bild: FES

Summary

Regional organizations have invested in institutions to limit the use of force at the international level. However, national issues and growing ideological differences lead to divergent perceptions of the most important threats and how to deal with them.

The risks of inter-state conflict and use of force in the region is very low. The main issues regarding the use of force seem to be limited to the national levels, even in the cases of organized crime, and other related problems.

There are two main clusters of problems in domestic security which are associated with (i) state actors (securitization & militarization, misuse of force, lack of monopoly of force in certain areas) and (ii) non-state violent actors (»privatization« of force, state capture by organized crime, anti-state violence).

Future discussions of the monopoly on the use of force in the region must also address three new issues: (i) the rise of authoritarian governments, (ii) rising defense spending (iii) ideological rivalries.

Jácome, Francine

Security perspectives in Latin America

Berlin, 2015

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Think Piece No. 4: Security Perspectives in Latin America

Security perspectives in Latin America

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