Violent crime in post-civil war Guatemala: causes and policy implications
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Authors
Turner, Duilia Mora
Subjects
Guatemala
post-conflict
violent crime
drug trafficking
violent gangs
social cleansing
lynch law
femicide
corruption
democratic consolidation
institutional capacity
judicial system
police reform
Civil-Military Relations
social factors
policy
Ríos Montt
post-conflict
violent crime
drug trafficking
violent gangs
social cleansing
lynch law
femicide
corruption
democratic consolidation
institutional capacity
judicial system
police reform
Civil-Military Relations
social factors
policy
Ríos Montt
Advisors
Bruneau, Thomas C.
Date of Issue
2015-03
Date
March 2015
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Guatemala is one of the most violent countries in Latin America, and thus the world. The primary purpose of this thesis is to answer the following question: what factors explain the rise of violent crime in post-civil war Guatemala? The secondary focus of this thesis is to identify the transnational implications of Guatemala’s violence for U.S. policy. Guatemala’s critical security environment requires the identification of causal relationships and potential corrective actions. This thesis hypothesizes that the causes of violent crime in post-conflict Guatemala are the combination of weak institutional performance and social factors. Determining that Guatemala is not a consolidated democracy, this thesis concludes that a flawed judicial system, inadequate police reform, and weak civil control over the armed forces have a direct causal effect on violent crime in Guatemala. Furthermore, an analysis of social factors demonstrates that these are not causal in nature but rather influential elements in the occurrence of violence.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
National Security Affairs
Organization
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NPS Report Number
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Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.