Votes, Drugs, and Violence

The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico

Guillermo Trejo, Sandra Ley

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9781108841740
• eBook ISBN:
  9781108896740
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Politics & International Relations

One of the most surprising developments in Mexico's transition to democracy is the outbreak of criminal wars and large-scale criminal violence. Why did Mexican drug cartels go to war as the country transitioned away from one-party rule? And why have criminal wars proliferated as democracy has consolidated and elections have become more competitive subnationally? In Votes, Drugs, and Violence, Guillermo Trejo and Sandra Ley develop a political theory of criminal violence in weak democracies that elucidates how democratic politics and the fragmentation of power fundamentally shape cartels' incentives for war and peace. Drawing on in-depth case studies and statistical analysis spanning more than two decades and multiple levels of government, Trejo and Ley show that electoral competition and partisan conflict were key drivers of the outbreak of Mexico's crime wars, the intensification of violence, and the expansion of war and violence to the spheres of local politics and civil society.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Maps
• List of Tables
• Preface
• List of Acronyms
• Introduction
• Part I A Political Theory of Criminal Violence
• Part II The Outbreak of Inter-Cartel Wars
• Part III The State’s War Against the Cartels
• Part IV The Rise of Criminal Governance: Subverting Local Democracy in War
• Conclusion
• Appendix A Criminal Violence in Mexico Database (CVM)
• Appendix B Criminal Attacks Against Political Actors in Mexico (CAPAM) Database
• Appendix C Chapter 2. Multivariate Regression Models (Robustness Checks)
• Appendix D Chapter 4. Multivariate Regression Models (Robustness Checks)
• Appendix E Chapter 4. Natural Experiment (Additional Information)
• Appendix F Chapter 6. Multivariate Regression Models (Robustness Checks)
• Appendix G Chapter 6. Natural Experiments (Additional Information)
• References
• Index