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Organized criminal violence and territorial control

Evidence from northern Honduras

Bibliographic Data

ID3917023
AuthorsLouis-Alexandre Berg (0000-0002-1673-6974, Georgia State University, corresponding author), Marlon Carranza (0000-0002-3901-814X, Leipzig University)
Year2018
Volume55
Issue5
Pages566-581
Publication date2018-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022343317752796
OpenAlexW2794129301
LanguageIT
Citations received40
References cited37

What accounts for geographic variation in organized criminal violence? In Honduras, a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world, the intensity of violence rivals many civil wars. Yet violent crime varies across cities and neighborhoods. Armed groups seeking to control territory use violence for different purposes, including competing against rivals, coercing residents and state officials, and exploiting the public for profit. Variations in community organization, defined as the density of interpersonal ties and the prevalence of shared expectations for collective action, affect the utility of violence for each of these purposes. Community organization can raise the cost of controlling territory, reduce the benefits of coercive violence, and generate pressure to protect residents from exploitation. These dynamics are examined through a comparison of nine neighborhoods in three of Honduras's most violent cities, drawing from disaggregated homicide data and ethnographic research. The comparison shows that neighborhoods with denser community organization experienced lower levels of violence. Narrative evidence points to specific ways in which community organization mediates effects of competition among criminal groups and their interaction with state officials. Community characteristics thus affect the way non-state armed actors exercise authority in areas of limited state presence

Affect (linguistics) · Collective action · Collective efficacy · Competition (biology) · Criminology · Domestic violence · Environmental health · Homicide · Poison control · Political science · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses

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Unique citing works40
Citations per year5,71
Citation span2019 - 2026 (8)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 37
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