Dark Governance

A revelatory account of the ways covert, nefarious relationships between state officials and criminal groups shape daily life for all.

Far too often, the line between legal and illegal action is crossed by actors and organisations on both sides of the law. From the old Chicago Machine getting rich off criminal activity to Mexican drug cartels placing politicians in office, these relationships between criminals and the government coordinate forms of power that affect where people live, what opportunities they can pursue, how they spend money, and how they treat one another. In Dark Governance, sociologist Javier Auyero describes how this kind of governance works and what it means for civic life.

Auyero analyses instances of dark governance, including gangs in Ecuador and paramilitaries in Colombia who exert territorial control through violent specialists and government actors. He then turns to the less-studied case of the "colectivos" in Venezuela to show the scope of political work clandestine connections can achieve by thwarting grassroots organisations. In El Salvador and Honduras, the ties between gang members on one hand, and politicians and elected officials on the other, serve to illustrate the impact dark governance has on urban spatial arrangements and on electoral campaigns. Dark Governance also offers an in-depth study of police-trafficker collusion in Argentina, which allows Auyero to identify the ways covert connections between state actors and drug traffickers operate in marginalised communities, affecting interpersonal violence.

In addition to these examples in Latin America, Auyero also shares case studies in the United States and China. Dark governance can be seen in US organisations that patrol the borders and assert their control over migrants through their illicit connections with state authorities. In China, land expropriation and development projects are sometimes delayed when some households refuse to leave their properties. Enter the thugs-for-hire frequently contracted by local governments across the country to coerce residents into complying with government orders.

Demonstrating the very real effects of dark governance, Auyero argues that though the organisations involved in these dark arrangements differ, their collaboration results in a singular effect: the ability to control populations. But when these relationships come out of the shadows, collective action can bring them down.