The militarization of public safety in Latin America

• Grant number: 23/04676-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: June 29, 2023
• End date: June 28, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Marcos César Alvarez
• Grantee: Felipe Ramos Garcia
• Supervisor: Eduardo Moncada
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Columbia University in the City of New York, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/05090-4 - Acting of the armed forces in public security: legitimacy from the military perspective, BP.DR

Abstract

In the last decade, we have observed a growing role of the Armed Forces in public security operations on the continent. A representative number of members of the Armed Forces in positions in the executive, legislative and even in some judicial advisory positions were and still are present in several countries in the region. In this sense, the present work seeks, starting from a theoretical framework built on the interpretation of the political performance of the Armed Forces in Latin America historically; and from the reflection that has been built in the field of sociology about the militarization of public security in Brazil, to understand how this action occurs and how it is institutionally perceived by the military. To this end, we will carry out a period of internship at the Institute of Latin American Studies, at Columbia University in New York, with the aim of expanding the range of possibilities for interpreting and understanding this phenomenon. The center is globally recognized for bringing together researchers from various parts of the world and, in particular, from countries in South and Central America, who discuss the region's problems in areas such as public safety, violence and international drug trafficking. In this way, our objective is to find possible parallels and to think about the performance of the military in public security comparatively in the continent and to verify if it is possible to insert Brazil in a broader phenomenon of participation of the military of the Armed Forces in matters of public and internal security and how this can help us understand this performance from the perspective of neighboring countries. In tune with the work carried out by the Center for the Study of Violence, this project will bring important contributions to the ongoing project in the country. (AU)