The politics of drug violence: criminals, cops, and politicians in Colombia and Mexico

The politics of drug violence is an important contribution not only to International Relations but also to the field of security studies. In her book, Angélica Durán-Martinez challenges an idea that is often prominent in work on drug violence, namely that drug markets are inherently violent. In order to do this, she initially details which variables she has chosen to examine, why these were chosen and how they fit together to create her theory on drug-related violence. Though this part is rather long, quite dense and written using overly complicated language, a detailed description of the methodology is necessary for fully grasping Durán-Martinez's argument. Moreover, by looking at these particular variables, Durán-Martinez is able to analyse and compare the occurrences of violence in different periods of time and from different localities. On the first page of her book, Durán-Martinez highlights ‘the enormous variation in the amount of violence existing within countries afflicted by drugs trafficking and examines the puzzle of why criminals sometimes seek to publicize violence even though it can be detrimental for them in the long run’. In order to analyse this disparity, she looks at two key variables: visibility, that is whether criminals expose their violent acts or claim responsibility for attacks that have taken place, and frequency, or how often violence is committed. Durán-Martinez argues that sometimes criminals decide not to show the violence they use in order to maintain their power, but that this decision is a result of the interaction between criminals and the state. Specifically, the need to employ violence depends on the cohesion of the state security apparatus and competition in the drug market.