CLACS Seminar: Lucía Tiscornia (University College Dublin): Criminal Governance in Unexpected Places: The case of Uruguay
| Dates: | 26 February 2026 |
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| Times: | 17:00 - 18:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Speaker: | Lucía Tiscornia |
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This talk is part of the seminar series of the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
PLEASE NOTE THIS SEMINAR IS ON A THURSDAY
THURSDAY 26 Feb 2026, 5pm (UK time). This event will be in person, in Samuel Alexander Building, room A112. It can be followed online here: https://tinyurl.com/yzm5d7k2
Abstract: Many studies of criminal governance in Latin America tend to focus on countries with powerful criminal organizations and high levels of state coercive capacity. However, evidence increasingly shows that criminal governance also exists in unexpected settings—places where criminal groups are not as powerful and state presence is extended beyond security policies. Focusing on the city of Montevideo, Uruguay, this paper examines how criminal governance is shaped under these conditions. We employ a mixed-methods design, combining in-depth interviews with community leaders, members of NGOs, state and local authorities, and a public opinion survey containing direct and indirect questioning techniques. We find that criminal governance in Montevideo is more extensive than expected, but its scope is still limited. Criminal organizations develop violent and nonviolent practices, but these practices relate to the control of illicit drug markets, and do not extend into political or broader social governance. Neighborhood residents perceive some forms of violence—especially assault and shoot outs—as relatively likely. Yet, they continue to view state institutions, particularly security agencies, as the primary problem-solvers where they live, and rarely rely on or trust criminal actors. These findings suggest that criminal governance varies systematically across contexts. In the case of Montevideo, it emerges in a narrow, market-centered form rather than the more expansive versions researchers observe elsewhere. These findings point towards the need for conceptual frameworks that capture variation across contexts.
Lucía Tiscornia is Assistant Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations and a Fellow with the Geary Institute for Public Policy at University College Dublin
Speaker
Lucía Tiscornia
Role: Assistant Professor
Organisation: University College Dublin
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
A112
Samuel Alexander Building
Manchester
