Living in the shadow of death : gangs, violence and social order in urban Nicaragua, 1996–2002

Rodgers, Dennis (2006) Living in the shadow of death : gangs, violence and social order in urban Nicaragua, 1996–2002. Journal of Latin American Studies, 38 (2). pp. 267-292. ISSN 0022-216X

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Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of the youth gang (pandilla) phenomenon in contemporary urban Nicaragua, drawing on longitudinal ethnographic research conducted with a Managua pandilla in 1996–97 and in 2002. Pandillas and their violent practices are conceived as constituting a form of local social structuration in the face of broader conditions of high crime, insecurity, and socio-political breakdown. This form of ‘ street-level politics ’ changed significantly between 1997 and 2002, however, evolving from a form of collective social violence to a more individually and economically motivated type of brutality. This transformation is related to wider structural processes, which are described as coming together and precipitating a form of ‘ social death ’ in contemporary Nicaragua.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?...
Additional Information:	(c) 2006 Cambridge University Press.
Divisions:	Geography & Environment
Subjects:	F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F1201 Latin America (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Date Deposited:	22 Jun 2007
Last Modified:	21 Apr 2024 16:48
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/2472

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