The Violence of Development: Guerrillas, Gangs, and Goondas in Perspective

Abstract

This chapter analyses the intuitively compelling assumption that violence is inimical to development. Ever since Marx argued that the development of Europe proceeded through "primitive accumulation", many writers from a wide range of theoretical perspectives have in fact regarded development as inherently reliant on coercion and force. The chapter provides a brief survey of arguments that violence is linked with development before outlining three examplesthe cases of guerrillas, gangs and goondas-that, we argue, exposes the more productive associations of violence. We accept that not all violence is developmental, but the chapter highlights the importance of being able to understand the conditions and forms under which violence might or might not be progressive, and how and why development becomes linked to violence, and when this relationship potentially dissipates.

The Problem with Templates: Learning from Organic Gang-Related Violence Reduction

“…As Robert Bates (2001), Gareth A. Jones and Dennis Rodgers (2016) have highlighted, it is by no means proven that peace is a necessary pre-condition for prosperity, and the occupational trajectories of former barrio Luis Fanor Hernández gang members highlight how under certain circumstances violence can constitute a major comparative advantage for individuals, sometimes even their main one. Seen in this way, if the point of a DDR programme is to provide assistance to former combatants and enable them to find jobs, including starting their own businesses, then perhaps the most efficient way to achieve this is to allow them to maximize their violence expertise.…”

“…Leaving aside for now the thorny question of the relationship between security and development (see Bates 2001;Jones and Rodgers 2016;Jensen 2010), and focusing instead on the violence-reducing function of DDR programmes, this can generally be said to be underpinned by certain basic assumptions. These include, in particular, the notion that 'former combatants face unique and specific challenges' -in that they have a lack of usable skills and may be suffering from trauma -and that 'targeted reintegration programmes are necessary', which need to be specifically adapted to permit beneficiaries to overcome barriers such as stigma and discrimination linked to their combatant role (Barron 2009: 255).…”

“The Criminal Actors Have a Social Base in Their Communities”: Gangs and Service Provision in Medellín, Colombia

“…Over the past two decades, scholars have examined the criminal governance practices of gangs, such as their governance over populations within a specific territory (Arias 2014;Campana and Varese 2018;Levitt and Venatesh 2000;Lessing and Willis 2019;Skarbek 2011;Wolff 2015). Previous research has shown how gangs tend to govern areas where they are physically based and where the power of the state presence is weak (Arias and Goldstein 2010;Campana and Varese 2018;Hume 2004;Levitt and Venatesh 2000;Koonings and Kruijt 1999;Jones and Rodgers 2016). For example, Arias (2014) argues that gangs can exploit opportunities to operate as "parallel" or "alternative sources" of political and economic power where the state has limited presence or limited legitimacy.…”

“…Previous research has shown how gang members often act-or promise to do so-in predictable ways, which can be in contrast to the actions of the state, which, in the community's perception, appears to act in an arbitrary fashion (Jones and Rodgers 2016). As an example, in Nicaragua, Rodgers (2006) explored how gangs complied with a cardinal "golden rule" not to harm local inhabitants; the victims of local gangs were outsiders.…”

Educating 'Gangsters': Social space, informal learning and becoming 'Gang' involved

“…However, despite these, there appears to be sparse mention of third place / space specifically in relation to gangs and education. and creativity (Ferrell, 1996;Borden, 2010;Edensor et al, 2012 in Jorgensen andKeenan, 2012), projected tele-visualised space (Baudrillard, 2009;Clarke and Doel, 2005;Hallam, 2010;Virilio, 1989Virilio, , 2000 and spaces of being, becoming and 'being-toward' the world as existent space (Nancy, 1997: 7).…”