The Sociology of crime and violence in Latin America: a fragmented field

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to establish a genealogy of studies on the Sociology of crime and violence in Latin America, particularly since the 1960s of the 20th century, when a body of literature emerges with clear characteristics of a sub-discipline, with a community of knowledge that promotes an autonomous analytical field. The generating process of the creation of these communities has been the inexorable development of crime. With the exception of Colombia since the mid-xx century, the rest of the countries went from low levels of crime to the exponential increase in multiple forms of violence and the multiplication of illegal actors. The challenges have grown faster with fragmented national explanations. In the present study we provide a representative sample of the studies in the subcontinent and examine their theoretical bases and methods.

Keywords:
Sociology of crime and violence in Latin America; History of Sociology; Crimes