Collective Action and Sociological Research Networks in the Fight against Crime in Brazil

Since the end of the civil-military dictatorship (1964-1988), Brazilian society has experienced the growth of different forms of violence that have had an impact on collective feelings of fear and insecurity whose intensity may compromise citizens’ belief in the validity of the democratic order. This situation was accompanied by the creation of a field of sociological studies that sought to understand the reasons for this growth and the possibilities of internal pacification of contemporary Brazilian society. The article, based on documentary research, reconstructs the creation and development of the field of study of the sociology of violence in its connections with organized civil society. It seeks to explore the hypothesis according to which the problem of legal control of public order arises from disputes in the field of public security.