Selected Publications

 In the context of growing concern with violence in Latin American and Caribbean cities this co-authored paper proposes a multidimensional framework for the socio-spatial analysis of securitisation processes. The paper illustrates how unaddressed legacies of colonialism and notions of state power in the context of struggles with criminal actors have driven urban securitisation and diversified its targets and techniques beyond militarisation, making programmes which often appear progressive, capable of reproducing prejudices against marginalised groups. Read article

 Published in the Urban Studies journal, this paper argues that understanding the ways in which criminals interact with state and non-state actors is crucial to construct a more accurate picture of how local governance arrangements are unfolding in urban policy-making in Latin America. Based on the experience of Medellin, Colombia, and focusing on neighbourhood level dynamics, the paper presents the different strategies that allowed criminals to benefit from governance arrangements, originally created to promote participatory democracy and urban development. Read article

This paper explores how human insecurity impacts dynamics of urban violence. Using systems thinking to map mutually reinforcing forms of insecurity accentuated by the pandemic in vulnerable communities the paper advances the notion of systems of human insecurity to explain how multidimensional threats manifest in people’s lives affecting their exposure to violence. The paper also demonstrates the relevance and applicability of human security as an analytical approach to understanding key global challenges. Read article

  This report presents a deeper understanding of impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in some of the most populated and vulnerable communities in the Colombian city of Medellín. Based on collaborative and participatory research with community-based organizations we also offer ideas on how to advance towards a recovery strategy that reduces the influence of criminal groups in these areas and the risk of violence reproduction. Read here.

 This article in Conflict, Security & Development journal explores the potential contribution to a better understanding and practice of urban security from participatory research methodologies with communities most affected by violence. Focusing on what is known as the ‘Medellín Model’, an approach widely regarded as innovative and successful, we assess what difference it makes when academic, civic and social organisations come together to co-produce knowledge with community researchers living in the midst of mutating forms of violence. Read article.

This co-edited book contains thought provoking chapters that demonstrate that security in Latin America can not be equated with order and repression and that there is a body of New Security Thinking in the region that can help to build a concept of security that can strengthen rather than weaken democratic values.

Leer libro

This briefing paper presents preliminary findings from an empirical study carried out in Medellin and San Salvador, which explored the way residents of marginalised areas experience security and justice provision in contexts where governance arrangements are changing as a result of different security strategies. It also explores what type of informal and formal practices are deployed to deal with people’s daily security needs in contexts characterised by the coexistence of state institutions and illegal and coercive actors. Read brief