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Begin New Search Political Geography Costa Rica Author Sebastian Huhn

1. The Culture of Fear and Control in Costa Rica (I): Crime Statistics and Law Enforcement

Author:
Sebastian Huhn
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The Costa Rican talk of crime is fundamentally based on the assumption that crime rates have increased significantly in recent years and that there is today a vast and alarming amount of crime. On the basis of this assumption, fear of crime, the call for the “iron fist,” and drastic law enforcement actions are continually increasing. While crime statistics are the logical basis for the hypothesis on the far- reaching extent of delinquency, they are used in a problematic way in the talk of crime. In this paper I discuss Costa Rican crime statistics, their development, and their utilization in the talk of crime against the background of criminological theory. The theses of the paper are that a) the informative value of crime statistics regarding Costa Rican reality is far more questionable than the common utilization of them implies and b) when they are used as argumentation, these crime statistics do not provide evidence of the oft- proclaimed rising crime wave.
Topic:
Crime
Political Geography:
Latin America and Costa Rica

2. A History of Nonviolence: Insecurity and the Normative Power of the Imagined in Costa Rica

Author:
Sebastian Huhn
Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Crime, violence, and insecurity are among the most important social topics in contemporary Costa Rica. These three issues play a central role in the media, politics, and everyday life, and the impression has emerged that security has changed for the worse and that society is now threatened permanently. However, crime statistics do not support this perception. The paper thus asks why violence and crime generate such huge fear in society. The thesis is that the Costa Rican national identity—with Costa Rica constructed as a nonviolent nation—impedes a realistic discussion about the phenomena and their causes, and simultaneously provides a platform for sensationalism and the social construction of fear.
Topic:
Civil Society and Crime
Political Geography:
Costa Rica