Carlos Díaz Lannes is a practicing lawyer. His interest in democratization of justice and security led him to found an NGO, the Centre for Studies in Democracy, Justice and Security, which he directs. Prior to that, he was an advisor to the Ministries of Government and Justice, and Citizen Security in Argentina’s Tucumán province. He organized the First Conference of Northwestern Argentina (NOA) on Security and Democracy. He has also been the Regional Director of INECIP, and took part in the project of Survey and Analysis of Reforms in the Fields of Security and Human Rights under the supervision of the National Homeland Security Council with the support of the Embassy and the Police Academy of the Netherlands.
He is the coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Procedural Law program and is a research assistant at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at the National University of Tucumán. He studied at the Operator Training Program for the Reform of Criminal Procedure in the Justice Studies Center of the Americas.
Research proposal: Study of experiences of Community Participation in Security Matters in Argentina: Factors that Influence the Access to Participation, the Performance of Participants and Desertion Cases. Advances and Failures in the Democratization of Public Security
In Argentina, the idea that people can channel the demands related to insecurity through "forums", "councils" or "meetings" prevails. New social actors take part in defining public policies in security areas: neighborhood or retiree centers, businesses, churches, civic associations, schools, clubs, NGOs and government officials.
These areas have developed different mechanisms of participation and organization that is in our interest to examine in order to determine how they allow democratic access to all those interested in participating; the ways to ensure such Access; the impact of certain factors - political or police pressures - on their possibilities of expression; the existence of excluded actors and their causes (lack of knowledge, extreme poverty, lack of social ties); the factors that cause gradual reduction of interest and commitment of the actors; the development of "leaderships" and mechanisms of subordination within them; excessive regulations or lack of work guidelines; and other causes that are of relevant interest that should be studied and exposed in order to improve and enhance the benefits of these forms of popular organization.
Download research proposal (in Spanish).
Jorge Eduardo Delgado is a Researcher in the areas of Security and Defense Studies, and Peace Building and Post Conflict at Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP), a think-thank based in Bogota that contributes with ideas and proposals for the overcoming of conflict in Colombia. Since 2007, he has worked on various research and consultancy projects for Colombia’s security sector, with entities such as the Ministry of National Defense, the Armed Forces and the National Planning Department. Jorge holds a BA in History and a BA in Political Science from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota. He was selected as Chevening Scholar 2010 to pursue an MA in War Studies at King’s College in London.
Research proposal: The Path to Military Reform: A Proposal of Roles and Missions for Colombia’s Armed Forces
Since 2006 the Colombian government has been implementing the “Política de Consolidación de la Seguridad Democrática” (PCSD, ‘Democratic Security Consolidation Policy’), designed as a thorough counterinsurgency effort to succeed in the dismantling of illegal armed groups, and to consolidate territorial control. This policy has established that the military has to participate actively. However, it has not defined which role they have to play in the long term when security has improved. At the same time, the policy has not developed mechanisms that regulate the Armed Forces’ participation in the counter insurgency effort. This leads, among others, to a situation where it is not clear where the military’s responsibility ends and the policing responsibilities begin. With this in mind, it is important to develop a clear definition of roles and missions for the Colombian Armed Forces under the consolidation policy that can serve as a base for a proposal of military reform vis-a-vis a post-conflict scenario.
Download research proposal (in Spanish)
Rolando Mamani was born in Bolivia and studied Political Science at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz. Throughout his career he has directed and collaborated on multiple projects relating to youth culture, gender, political parties and indigenous issues. In 2007 he won a research grant from the Colectivo Latinoamericano de Jovenes-FLACSO (Latin American collective of young people). He also received a grant from the Fondo de Población of the United Nations in Bolivia in 2008. Mamani has also received numerous awards for his academic achievements and as a youth activist.
Research proposal: Non-state models for the administration of justice and public security in Bolivia
Tradicionalmente se considera al Estado como una institución que asume las prerrogativas de la administración de la justicia y la seguridad pública sobre la sociedad. Sin embargo, el problema radica en que este postulado es puramente formal, cuando la infraestructura estatal es incapaz de cubrir la integridad de su territorio. Esto provoca que sean comunidades de la propia sociedad quienes asuman estas prerrogativas ante la tenue presencia de las instituciones del Estado. Este fenómeno da cabida a la existencia de modelos paraestatales de administración de la justicia y la seguridad pública. Esto, con diversos matices, es observable en Bolivia, específicamente en tres contextos claramente diferenciados que son: rural-indígena, suburbano y urbano. El propósito de esta investigación es conocer las características de este fenómeno y sus efectos.
Download research proposal (in Spanish)
FACULTAD LATINOAMERICANA DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES (FLACSO- CHILE)
Av. Dag Hammarskjold 3269, Vitacura, Santiago de Chile.
Phones : (56 2) 2900200 - (56 2) 2900212
Email: securitytransformation@flacso.cl