The Beheading of Criminal Organizations and the Dynamics of Violence in Mexico’s Drug War [June 2015]
In 2006 the Mexican government launched an aggressive campaign to weaken drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs). The security policies differed significantly from those of previous administrations in the use of a leadership strategy (the targeting for arrest of the highest levels or core leadership of criminal networks). While these strategies can play an important role in disrupting the targeted criminal organization, they can also have unintended consequences, increasing inter-cartel and intra-cartel fighting and fragmenting criminal organizations. What impact do captures of senior drug cartel members have on the dynamics of drug-related violence? Does it matter if governments target drug kingpins vs. lower ranked lieutenants? We analyze whether the captures or killings of kingpins and lieutenants have increased drug-related violence and whether the violence spills over spatially. To estimate effects that are credibly causal, we use different empirical strategies that combine difference-in-differences and synthetic control group methods. We find evidence that captures or killings of drug cartel leaders have exacerbating effects not only on DTO-related violence, but also on homicides that affect the general population. Captures or killings of lieutenants, for their part, only seem to exacerbate violence in “strategic places” or municipalities located in the transportation network. While most of the effects on DTO-related violence are found in the first six months after a leader’s removal, effects on homicides affecting the rest of the population are more enduring, suggesting different mechanisms through which leadership neturalizations breed violence.
Noura Erakat analyzes the political and legal contexts of the 2014 Gaza war [VIDEO]
As part of the Arab Reform and Democracy Program's speaker series, George Mason University scholar Noura Erakat examined the political and legal contexts for the 2014 Gaza war. In July and August of 2014, hostilities in the Gaza Strip left 2,131 Palestinians and 71 Israelis dead, including 501 Palestinian children and one Israeli child. Of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents, 475,000 are living in temporary shelters or with other families because their homes have been severely damaged. The extent of destruction has raised questions around culpability for war crimes on all sides of the conflict.
Dancing in Jaffa: Film screening and Q&A with Pierre Dulaine
Abstract:
Screening of the award winning documentary 'Dancing in Jaffa' starring Pierre Dulaine who will be in attendance and will participate in a Q&A session following the film. Free and open to the public. Dinner provided. Preceded by short performance by the Stanford Middle East Ensemble.
Speaker Bio:
Pierre Dulaine was born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1944 to an Irish father and a Palestinian mother--both of whom fled the area in 1948. After eight months of moving several times, Dulaine's family settled in Amman, Jordan. In 1956, the Suez Crisis forced Dulaine's parents to flee the country, eventually resettling in Birmingham, England. In 1994 Dulaine founded the Dancing Classrooms program in New York City's public schools in which he encouraged children from various backgrounds to dance together. He later traveled to the city of his birth, Jaffa, to visit his childhood home and to make a film, 'Dancing in Jaffa,' where he brought Israeli Arabs and Jews together through dance and music. His life was also fictionalized in the film Take the Lead starring Antonio Banderas. More recently, Pierre Duaine has gained much acclaim in the Arab world for his role as Judge on the Arabic version of the TV show 'So You Think You Can Dance' where he encouraged young Arab men and women to pursue dance as way of dealing with difficult circumstances and certain outdated social
(See flyer for list of co-sponsors)
Note: Pierre Dulaine will give a lunchtime lecture on campus on May 29. For more information, click here.
Watch 'Dancing in Jaffa' trailer
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Building 206-113
Stanford, CA
Talk by ballroom dancing legend Pierre Dulaine
Abstract:
Ballroom dancing legend Pierre Dulaine will discuss his 'Dancing Classrooms' method which he applied in his award winning documentary 'Dancing in Jaffa' to bring Arab and Jewish children together through dance. Mr. Dulaine will speak about the film, his journey into the world of dance and his experience as a Judge on the Arabic version of the TV show 'So You Think You Can Dance.' Talk features audio-visual presentation and free lunch.
Speaker Bio:
Pierre Dulaine was born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1944 to an Irish father and a Palestinian mother--both of whom fled the area in 1948. After eight months of moving several times, Dulaine's family settled in Amman, Jordan. In 1956, the Suez Crisis forced Dulaine's parents to flee the country, eventually resettling in Birmingham, England. In 1994 Dulaine founded the Dancing Classrooms program in New York City's public schools in which he encouraged children from various backgrounds to dance together. He later traveled to the city of his birth, Jaffa, to visit his childhood home and to make a film, 'Dancing in Jaffa,' where he brought Israeli Arabs and Jews together through dance and music. His life was also fictionalized in the film Take the Lead starring Antonio Banderas. More recently, Pierre Duaine has gained much acclaim in the Arab world for his role as Judge on the Arabic version of the TV show 'So You Think You Can Dance' where he encouraged young Arab men and women to pursue dance as way of dealing with difficult circumstances and certain outdated social
(See flyer for a list of the co-sponsors)
Note: A screening of 'Dancing in Jaffa' will take place on campus on May 29. For more information, click here.
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Stanford Language Center,
Building 30-102,
Stanford, CA
Educational and Entrepreneurial Initiatives to Support Youth in Places of Violence
Participant youth, Wallace and Wellington, overlooking the city from their community.
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
The heavy presence of youth and young adults in the world of criminality is an issue that has been gaining increasingly more attention in the agendas of policymakers and politicians in developing and developed nations. With scarce options for a quality education, prospects for gainful employment and the possibility for future economic sustainability, on a daily basis, young individuals from poor communities throughout Latin American and U.S. cities are exposed to a violent environment with easily accessed - and often attractive - gateways into the world of criminality. From casual affiliation to gangs in schools and neighborhoods in Southern California, to full-time armed participation in international drug cartels in Juarez and drug factions in Rio de Janeiro favelas, youth are the biggest target – and victims – of violence.
In attempts to shed light to this very complex and fundamental issue that is claiming thousand of lives every year and deteriorating the social fabric across cities, the Program on Poverty and Governance (PovGov) at Stanford Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) in conjunction with the Center for Latin American Studies, The Bill Lane Center for the America West, The Mexico Initiative at FSI, and The Center on International Security and Cooperation, will hold a two-day conference to discuss the dimensions of youth and criminal violence in Latin American and U.S. cities and share pathways to hope.
Ranging from grassroots initiatives to widespread government policies, the conference will develop on various established development actions and programs aimed at providing educational, work, and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth in territories impacted by poverty, criminality and violence in the U.S. and Latin America. We will gather activists and practitioners from grassroots civil society organizations, community leaders, educators, professionals from international development platforms, policy-makers, politicians, scholars - as well as some of the very individuals participating in these programs - to discuss the many challenges faced by the youth population in these different locations and to share innovative and inspirational initiatives to generate opportunities and foster change.
At PovGov, we believe in the importance of creating an environment where actors with different backgrounds across sectors, disciplines, realities and environments can come together to share their first-hand experiences, challenges and aspirations. We hope this wide-reaching and multiplayer conference can enrich the discussion around the formulation of policies and development strategies to benefit the youth in places of violence and better inform the work moving forward.
Conference Materials
Descriptions of Panels and Talks
Agenda
Tuesday, April 28th 2015
8:40 – 9:00: Welcoming Remarks
· Beatriz Magaloni, Director, PovGov, Stanford University.
· Larry Diamond, Director, CDDRL, Stanford University.
· Rodolfo Dirzo, Director, Center for Latin America Studies, Stanford University.
9:00 – 10:30
Panel 1. Youth Violence: Risk Factors and Consequences
· Beatriz Magaloni, Director, PovGov, Stanford University.
· Brenda Jarillo, Post-Doctoral Fellow, PovGov, Stanford University.
· Monica Valdez González, Director of Research and Studies, IMJUVE, Mexico.
Discussant: Francis Fukuyama, Director, Program on Governance, Stanford University.
10:40 – 11:40
Keynote Speaker
The Agenda for Youth Violence Prevention in Brazil: Where We Are Now and Where We Are Heading
Angela Guimarães, Brazil’s Sub-Secretary of Youth and President of the National Council on Youth (CONJUVE)
11:50 – 12:50: Lunch
1:00 – 2:30
Panel 2. Initiatives for At-risk Youth in Rio Favelas
· Eliana de Sousa e Silva, Director, Redes de Desenvolvimento da Maré, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
· Jailson de Sousa e Silva, Director, Observatório de Favelas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
· Ivana Bentes, National Secretary of Citizenship and Cultural Diversity, Brazil.
Discussant: Larry Diamond, Director, CDDRL, Stanford University.
(10-minute break)
2:40 – 4:10
Panel 3. Reducing Youth Gang Activity and Violence in the U.S.
· Amy Crawford, Deputy Director, Center for Crime Prevention and Control, John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
· Lateefah Simon, Director, California’s Future Initiative at Rosenberg Foundation, San Francisco, California.
· Christa Gannon, Founder and Director, Fresh Lifelines for Youth, San Mateo and Santa Clara, California.
Discussant: Bruce Cain, Director, Bill Lane Institute for the American West, Stanford University.
4:15 – 5:00: Closing Event of the Day
Stanford International Crime and Violence Lab announcement; cooperation agreement ceremony; photography exposition from Observatório de Favelas (“People’s Images” project).
· Beatriz Magaloni, Stanford University.
· Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, Stanford University.
(Adjourn)
Wednesday, April 29th 2015
9:00- 10:30
Panel 4. Evaluating Effective Interventions for Youth
· Jorja Leap, Adjunct Professor, Department of Social Welfare; Director, Health and Social Justice Partnership, UCLA.
· Gustavo Robles, Pre-Doctoral Fellow, PovGov, Stanford University.
· Felix Lucero, The Prison University Project, California, U.S.
Facilitator: Martin Carnoy, Professor, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University.
10:40 – 1:00
Panel 5. The “Network for Youth Agency” Experience
Sector 5.1. Instruments to Make a Difference
· Veruska Delfino, Production Coordinator, Agência de Redes Para Juventude.
· Ana Paula Lisboa, Methodology Coordinator, Agência de Redes Para Juventude.
· Elaine Rosa, Former Participant and Entrepreneur, Agência de Redes Para Juventude.
Discussant: Stephen Commins, Lecturer in Urban Planning and Associate Director for Global Public Affairs at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA.
Section 5.2. World Exchange of Methodologies
· Marcus Faustini, Director and Founder, Agência de Redes Para Juventude, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
· Paul Heritage, Professor, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
· Liz Moreton, Battersea Arts Centre, London, UK.
· Suzie Henderson, Contact Theatre, Manchester, UK.
Discussant: Stephen Commins, Lecturer in Urban Planning and Associate Director for Global Public Affairs at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA.
1:00 – 2:00: Lunch
2:10 – 3:10
Keynote Speaker
Applied Social Research: Youth and Gangs in Mexico City
Hector Castillo Berthier, Founder and Director, Circo Volador, Mexico
3:55 - 4:35
Panel 6. Victims and Perpetrators of Violence: Redirecting Youth in Mexican Prisons
· Carlos Cruz, Founder and Director, Cauce Ciudadano, Mexico.
· Ana Laura Magaloni, Professor of Law, Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE), Mexico.
· Humberto Padgett, Journalist, Mexico.
· Antonio Cervantes, Producer, Mexico.
Discussant: Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, Senior Fellow, FSI, Stanford University.
4:40– 6:00
Panel 7: Youth Experiences: Sharing Lives, Practices and Knowledge
· Emanuelle Gomes Pereira Mallete, Agência de Redes Para Juventude and Pontão de Cultura, Sepetiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
. Mariluce Mariá de Souza, Social Enterpreneur and Activist, Complexo do Alemão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
· Francisco Valdean Alves dos Santos, Observatório de Favelas, Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
· Valnei Succo, Observatório de Favelas, Rocha Miranda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
· Christian Paronable, Fresh Lifelines for Youth, California.
· Alma Yureni Esqueda Garcia, Cauce Ciudadano, Morelos, Mexico.
Facilitator: Izabela Moi, John S. Knight Journalism Fellow, Stanford University.
6:00 – Closing Remarks and Final reception
· Beatriz Magaloni, Director, PovGov, Stanford University.
WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.
State Fragility and Extreme Poverty: What Can be Done?
Please note that this CDDRL seminar will be held on Wednesday.
Abstract:
Recent estimates place half of the world’s poorest people in fragile and conflict-affected states by 2015. As the world moves towards the next phase of global development goals, which includes a central emphasis on eradicating extreme poverty, it will be necessary to understand the challenges for countries in the most difficult contexts. Is addressing and resolving fragility a condition (or precondition) for successfully addressing poverty? Or, are there ways to significantly and sustainably reduce poverty even while countries remain fragile?
USAID is seeking to answer these questions as it recommits to working with its partners to end extreme poverty by 2030. And while we acknowledge that ending extreme poverty will not be easy, progress and gains already achieved over the past couple of decades have made us certain that it is possible. As the global community coalesces around this goal, USAID seeks to increase shared understanding of the nature of extreme poverty, where there has been success and why, and what we are already doing and will need to do differently to catalyze and invest in global solutions.
Speaker Bio:
Alex Thier
Philippines Conference Room
Encina Hall, 3nd Floor
616 Serra St
Stanford, CA 94305
CDDRL scholars on Obama's Middle East strategy
Francis Fukuyama and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry write in the Financial Times, suggesting President Obama's stance on ISIS is "overpromising" and that America should follow lessons from British history and pursue a more sustainable strategy known as "offshore balancing."