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

Rodgers, D. (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. (doi: 10.1017/S0022216X0600071X)

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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:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Rodgers, Professor Dennis
Authors: Rodgers, D.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
Journal Name:Journal of Latin American Studies
ISSN:0022-216X
ISSN (Online):1469-767X
Published Online:27 April 2006

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