Armed violence, organized crime and politics in Latin America

Latin America has moved from being a continent plagued by armed conflicts of political origin, to one where the main threat to human security and democratic governance is criminal armed violence. This problem is particularly pressing in the northern part of the region stretching from Colombia to Mexico, where thousands of people lose their lives every year due to armed violence mostly originating in organized crime. The presence of high profile illicit markets for narcotics (particularly cocaine) is one o f the main factors contributing to the proliferation of armed violence in the region. However, the literature on organized crime )OC) clearly indicates that there is no automatic connection between the prevalence of such illicit markets and extreme levels of armed violence as currently observed in parts of Latin America. A hypothesis emerging from current literature is that the violence generated by organized crime depends on existing relations between political systems and criminal activity (political-cr iminal nexus). This issue is still under-researched, also in the Latin American context. We propose to organize two conferences focusing on the existing relation(s) between politics and organized crime in Latin America and its impact on armed violence. Th e conferences will be organized in Oslo and Mexico, addressing two different audiences. Conference contributions will address two key questions: (i) how does organized ccrime engage with the political sphere (political institutions and actors) in Latin Am erica? and (ii) what impact does this relation have upon the levels of armed violence observed in the region? The best contributions will be invited to join in an edited volume and a special issue in an academic journal led by the organizing team.