"Rosen and Kasaab's Crime, Violence, and the State in Latin America is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how criminal organizations flourish in the power vacuums present in fragile states. Beyond merely illustrating how corruption impedes development in individual states, the authors demonstrate how the spread of illicit networks threaten regional security as well. It's a cogent, timely study that will benefit practitioners and undergraduates alike" -- Christine J. Wade, Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Washington College "Rosen and Kassab prove again they are the go to authors when it comes to understanding the connections between organized crime, illicit markets, violence and weak states. Crime, Violence, and the State in Latin America represents another masterful treatise on the salient issues that shape the developing world today. Rosen and Kassab link power, organized crime and weak institutions into a sophisticated and methodologically rigorous framework that explains the mechanism by which illicit non-state actors challenge state authority. Through well researched case studies Rosen and Kassab help to further our understanding of the consequences that crime and violence have on institutionalization and democratization in the developing world. This volume is a must read for anyone interested in the intersection of crime, violence and the development of state power.

" -- Orlando J. Pérez, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Political Science, University of North Texas at Dallas.