Power Vacuums and Violence Essay

Irrespective of the economic or political position of a country in the globe, it is injudicious to rule out the possibility of turmoil especially where there are active and well-organized gangs. Power vacuums are a connected outcome where it becomes difficult for a country to have a smooth transition. If it happens, such as the example of Mexico, the criminal gangs usually step up to fill these positions before the establishment of a legitimate government (Kamel, 2017). However, and in most cases, the risk increases due to the support the gangs receive even from the political segment. A perfect illustration is the dismantling attempt of Mafia through RICO where it was somewhat challenging due to the support the group received from powers within the government (Bonney, 1992).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Apparently, the role of power vacuums in connection with gang violence is primarily the promotion of a favorable atmosphere; it makes criminal acts to flourish (Buscaglia, 2013). In most cases, it becomes extremely hard to establish or propel government programs due to the instability effect. As such, since the state powers are at a destabilized state, gangs get an ideal opportunity to propagate their objectives. The primary strategy they use is creating a "spectacle of fear" that makes the populace to kowtow to their influence (Correa-Cabrera, Garrett, & Keck, 2014). More so, considering that the gangs get significant support from influential figures, their exertion broaden to the extent of destabilizing social units such as families as well as the disorganization of the social systems in urban areas (Kamel, 2017).

When countries lack efficient social systems due to power vacuums, other nations especially the adjacent ones, join hands to rescue the situation. As such, such an outcome is one way of fostering international relations despite its damaging effect on social units and urban systems. For instance, the U.S. and Mexican governments combined efforts to secure the Rio Grande in a way to control the probable soaring of gang activities such as drug trafficking and terrorism (Correa-Cabrera, Garrett, & Keck, 2014). However, regardless of the various shapes, the apparent relationship between power vacuums and violence is that the latter flourishes where the former is highly present. For instance, small gang organizations emerge in a state of political instability that characterizes power vacuums and gradually morph into sophisticated organizations such as the case of MS-13.

References

Bonney, L. S. (1992). Prosecution of Sophisticated Urban Street Gangs: A Proper Application of RICO, The. Cath. UL Rev., 42, 579.

Buscaglia, E. (2013). Mexico's Deadly Power Vacuum. N.p.: The New York Times.

Correa-Cabrera, G., Garrett, T., & Keck, M. (2014). Administrative Surveillance and Fear: Implications for US-Mexico Border Relations and Governance. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies/Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe, 35-53.

Kamel, L. (2017). The frailty of authority: Borders, non-state actors and power vacuums in a changing Middle East. Roma: Edizioni Nuova Cultura.