In this episode of Orion Talks, host Marta Furlan talks with Dr Nicholas Barnes on criminalized governance inside some of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. After sharing the process that led him to focus his research on political violence and non-state governance as observed in some of Rio’s neighborhoods, Dr Barnes explains how the gangs that control favelas develop relationships with the communities living there. He explains the combination of coercion and benefits that the gangs use to obtain obedience and cultivate support, as well as the changes that these strategies undergo over time and space. He completes the discussion by noting some of the ways in which community members themselves use different tools and strategies to influence gangs’ behavior. Dr Barnes then explains the concept of criminalized governance as opposed to the more widely used criminal governance. He also reflects on how criminalized governance relates to other forms of non-state governance, such as rebel governance. To conclude, Dr Barnes builds on his research and direct experience in Rio and shares his thoughts on how authorities should and could navigate the challenges posed by the presence and activities of those gangs in some of Rio’s neighborhoods.
Dr. Barnes is a Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews in the School of International Relations and affiliated faculty at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence. He holds a B.A. from Coe College, a Master’s in Ethno-Communal Conflict from University College Dublin, and a Ph.D. in comparative politics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Previously, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Grinnell College and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. His research focuses on political and criminal violence, illicit markets, public security, and non-state governance in Latin America. His book, Inside Criminalized Governance: How and Why Gangs Rule the Streets of Rio de Janeiro (Cambridge University Press), examines how drug-trafficking gangs control territory and develop various kinds of relations with favela communities in Rio de Janeiro. His academic work has been published in Comparative Political Studies, Perspectives on Politics, Current Sociology, Latin American Research Review, and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
