Sustaining Criminal Governance with Fear
The Use of Extra-lethal Violence to Regulate Community Life
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3365307 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Reynell Badillo Sarmiento (0000-0002-3576-8533, University of Chicago, corresponding author), Luis Fernando Trejos Rosero (0000-0003-4988-8576, Universidad del Norte), Luis Trejos-Rosero |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 656-682 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Latin American Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-216X • E-ISSN: 1469-767X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0022216x25000057 |
| OpenAlex | W4408379129 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 18 |
Why do organised criminal groups (OCGs) resort to dismemberment - a costly and resource-intensive practice - rather than simpler targeted killings? This article challenges the notion that such brutal violence is solely a byproduct of inter-criminal rivalries or efforts to conceal violence. Instead, we argue that dismemberments serve to entrench criminal governance regimes. By publicising these acts and/or the reasons behind them, criminal groups are demarcating the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and reinforcing their system of norms and punishments. Dismemberments serve as communicative violence targeting three audiences: rivals, group members and civilians. We demonstrate the logic of this argument through an original qualitative dataset of dismemberment cases in Barranquilla, Colombia, and multiple interviews gathered during over five years of fieldwork. This article contributes to understanding the mechanisms of extra-lethal violence that sustain criminal governance in Latin American cities
Business · Corporate governance · Criminology · Fear of crime · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Psychology · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses
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| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |