SOCIETIES OF FEAR by Kees Koonings (Editor), Dirk Kruijt (Editor) ( 9781856497664 )

Item Details

Title:

SOCIETIES OF FEAR
THE LEGACY OF CIVIL WAR, VIOLENCE AND TERROR IN LATIN AMERICA

By:

Kees Koonings (Editor), Dirk Kruijt (Editor)

Format:

Hardback

List price:	£85.00
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ISBN 10:

1856497666

ISBN 13:

9781856497664

Publisher:

ZED BOOKS LTD

Pub. date:

1 August, 1999

Pages:

352

Description:

Latin America is in the grip of a double challenge - coping with what may be the worst economic crisis since the 1930s while simultaneously consolidating its democratic transition. This is a comprehensive study of the legacy of violence and violent conflict throughout Latin America.

Synopsis:

As cities sprawl across Latin America, absorbing more and more of its people, crime and violence have become inescapable. From the paramilitary invasion of Medell!n in Colombia, the booming wealth of crack dealers in Managua, Nicaragua and police corruption in Mexico City, to the glimmers of hope in Lima, this book provides a dynamic analysis of urban insecurity. Based on new empirical evidence, interviews with local people and historical contextualization, the authors attempts to shed light on the fault-lines which have appeared in Latin American society. Neoliberal economic policy, it is argued, has intensified the gulf between elites, insulated in gated estates monitored by private security firms, and the poor, who are increasingly mistrustful of state-sponsored attempts to impose order on their slums. Rather than the current trend towards government withdrawal, the situation can only be improved by co-operation between communities and police to build new networks of trust. In the end, violence and insecurity are inseparable from social justice and democracy.

Illustrations:

map, notes, bibliography, index

Publication:

Imprint:

Zed Books Ltd

Returns:

Non-returnable

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