Latin America is one of the most violent regions in the world. It has suffered waves of repressive authoritarian rule, organized armed insurgency and civil war, violent protest, and ballooning rates of criminal violence. But is violence hard-wired into Latin America? This is a critical reassessment of the ways in which violence in Latin America is addressed and understood. Previous approaches have relied on structural perspectives, attributing the problem of violence to Latin America's colonial past or its conflictual contemporary politics. Bringing together scholars and practitioners, this volume argues that violence is often rooted more in contingent outcomes than in deeply embedded structures. Addressing topics ranging from the root sources of violence in Haiti to kidnapping in Colombia, from the role of property rights in patterns of violence to the challenges of peacebuilding, this book is an essential step towards understanding the causes and contexts of violence-and changing the mechanisms that produce it.

About the Author
Pablo Policzer is an associate professor of Political Science and Director of the Latin American Research Centre at the University of Calgary. He is the author of The Rise and Fall of Repression in Chile, a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title and winner of the CPSA Award for Best Book in Canadian Comparative politics.


Book Information
ISBN 9781552389065
Author Pablo Policzer
Format Paperback
Page Count 266
Imprint University of Calgary Press
Publisher University of Calgary Press
Weight(grams) 417g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 210mm * 15mm