Anatomy of Illegal Power

Lucía Dammert is Professor of International Relations at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile. She is a regional authority on security, organized crime, and governance, with extensive policy advisory experience across the region. Dammert has held key advisory positions and has served as key advisor to multiple regional organizations. At the global level she was a member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. Additionally, Dammert holds a PhD in Political Science from Leiden University.

“This is a must-read book on a timely topic impacting many countries throughout Latin America. Dammert is a leading scholar and thinker on crime, violence, and security policy in Latin America. Her book, Anatomy of Illegal Power, makes a terrific contribution to the scholarly work on this vital subject.”Jonathan D. Rosen, New Jersey City University, USA“In Anatomy of Illegal Power, Lucía Dammert presents a compelling analysis of crime and violence in Latin America. Moving beyond the conventional focus on cartels, gangs, and criminal organizations, she demonstrates how illegal markets emerge and expand, creating opportunities for delinquency and large-scale criminal activity that have profoundly eroded public safety. Blending vivid human stories with state-of-the-art scholarship, this book is essential reading for understanding the tragedy of crime in the region.”Marcelo Bergman, Universidad Tres de Febrero, Argentina“Latin America is an increasingly important lens for understanding global dynamics. Anatomy of Illegal Power is essential reading for anyone seeking key insights.”Daniel Innerarity, European University Institute, Florence, Italy“Anatomy of Illegal Power delivers a compelling and theoretically rigorous framework for explaining how illicit authority emerges, consolidates, and persists. Conceptualizing this form of power as a self-sustaining and socially embedded system capable of shaping enforcement, regulation, and public decision-making through unlawful means, the book makes a major contribution to the study of criminal governance, organized crime, and corruption. Conceptually incisive and analytically precise, it offers a systematic account of how illicit power is produced and exercised through enduring relationships with state institutions and regulatory arenas in Latin America. A rare tour de force, it is essential for scholars of power, illegality, and governance.”Valentin Pereda, School of Criminology, Université de Montréal, Canada

• Introduction SECTION 1: Everyday Violence and Territorial Control 1 The Many Faces of Illegality in Latin America 2 Extortion, the Price of Fear SECTION 2: Illicit Economies 3 A Narcotized Continent: Drug Economies and Violence in Latin America 4 Human Trafficking, Migrant Smuggling and the Illicit Market in People 5 An Illegal Mining Continent: Gold, Crime and Environmental Destruction 6 Illegal Logging and Illegal Fishing: Organized Crime, Markets and Environmental Harm SECTION 3: Infrastructures of Illegal Power 7 The Arms Business: Firearms, Power and Illicit Markets 8 The Art of Making Clean Money: Money Laundering, Illicit Markets and Cryptocurrencies Epilogue