John Bailey, a top-tier expert in Mexican politics and security issues in Latin America, has written a comprehensive, well organized, and thoroughly documented book. Bailey tries explore the structural factors that shape criminally and government responses to crime within Mexico. His book, The Politics of Crime in Mexico:Democratic Governance in a Security Trap, introducing the links between security and democratic governance from a perspective few analysts other than Bailey, will become a classic reference for students, scholars, diplomats, journalists, and security-experts concerned about the influence of organized crime on Mexico’s democracy.
Instead of pursuing to address a comprehensive history of drug trafficking in Mexico, Bailey focuses on the various factors that influence and enable crime in Mexico. Given the main importance of citizen security to democracy, this book begins with the explanation of the title concept, ‘the security trap’, illustrating why and how Mexico is in a situation where “crime, violence, corruption and impunity becomes mutually reinforcing in civil society, state and regime, and override efforts to build ethical democratic governance”(p.8). Bailey describes the security trap “the majority of the Latin American countries are trapped in a low-level …show more content…
The problems are summarized : 1) “The Missing Social Contract” in the wake of democratization processes, 2) “The Party-Electoral System Disconnect” which leads to poor policy decision and allows parties to pursue electoral wins at the price of decent quality public goods delivery, and 3) “Slow Reform of Police-Justice System” which is one of Mexico’s most crucial reform challenges by many reasons. These problems are blended with deficits in trust and compliance with the legal institutions, especially the police-justice
Instead of pursuing to address a comprehensive history of drug trafficking in Mexico, Bailey focuses on the various factors that influence and enable crime in Mexico. Given the main importance of citizen security to democracy, this book begins with the explanation of the title concept, ‘the security trap’, illustrating why and how Mexico is in a situation where “crime, violence, corruption and impunity becomes mutually reinforcing in civil society, state and regime, and override efforts to build ethical democratic governance”(p.8). Bailey describes the security trap “the majority of the Latin American countries are trapped in a low-level …show more content…
The problems are summarized : 1) “The Missing Social Contract” in the wake of democratization processes, 2) “The Party-Electoral System Disconnect” which leads to poor policy decision and allows parties to pursue electoral wins at the price of decent quality public goods delivery, and 3) “Slow Reform of Police-Justice System” which is one of Mexico’s most crucial reform challenges by many reasons. These problems are blended with deficits in trust and compliance with the legal institutions, especially the police-justice