Canning Paper | Understanding security in Latin America

Understanding security in Latin America: Canning Papers

07th Jul 2014

‘Latin America is the most violent region of the world.’ This has been a fre- quent headline, both in the region and beyond, since April, when the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (Unodc) released its most recent (2013) Global Study on Homicide. It was not actually news but it did dovetail with the widespread use of homicide rates as the yardstick of insecurity in Latin America — even though there is no automatic correlation between those rates and the public perception of insecurity. It is not the only case of wide- spread reliance on assumptions that hinder a useful understanding of the issue. This paper does not pretend to offer the ‘correct’ formula, but to iden- tify and help avoid the pitfalls.

Understanding security in Latin America Contents

Unodc’s Global Study on Homicide 2013 explains its focus on intentional homi- cide on its belief that it ‘as the most readily measurable, clearly defined and most comparable indicator for measuring violent deaths around the world [it] is, in certain circumstances, both a reasonable proxy for violent crime as well as a robust indicator of levels of security within states [our emphasis].’

More recent canning papers

Opportunities for an enhanced UK-Latin America relationship

The election of a new Labour Party government in July 2024 opens up possibilities for reviewing and refreshing diplomatic and trade relations between the UK and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In our latest Canning Paper, Canning House sets out what some of those opportunities may be.

What does the US election mean for Latin America?

The 5 November United States presidential election is set to be a tight race, with the vote in a small number of swing states likely to be decisive. In its latest Canning Paper, Canning House considers the potential impact of either leading candidate's victory on Latin America, and how the region sees the contest for the White House.