The Rule of Law in Central America: Citizens' Reactions to Crime and Punishment

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The book is a thorough study that focuses on the impact of the current crime wave on citizens' respect for the law in countries such as Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The work opens with a brief review of the literature on the rule of law and legal socialization, followed by an historical overview of the democratization and justice reform in Central America from the 1990s to the present. Set as a comparative, micro-level study, the work then looks at an array of measures from citizens' toleration of government abuses of power to vigilante justice and the reporting of crime to police. Lastly, an empirical model is developed to predict citizens' attitudes, combining both these micro-level individual attributes with macro-level measures of institutional performance. A unique look at the process of democratization from a comparative perspective, Citizens' Support for the Rule of Law in Central America it will appeal to faculty, researchers, and students interested in Latin American politics, comparative politics, and democratic transition.

Reviews

"Crime is key to understand the Central American democratization process. Mary Malones book does a wonderful job of locating empirical data on justice and public security in the agenda. It provides a fresh way of viewing an issue that has spawned an industry that in a short time has challenged the monopoly of the use of force by the State. It is clearly a relief to come across a book which challenges the tendency to analyze Central American crime crisis in a generalist perspective while including a detail analysis on citizens respect for the law in those countries. It includes an extraordinary treatment of a difficult problem at developing predictive models that combine both micro-level individual attributes with macro-level measures of institutional performance. I am sure this book will become a regular source for those interested on justice, public security and rule of law in Latin America." -Lucia Dammert, Executive Director, Global Consortium on Security Transformation
"This book is an indispensable reading for anyone who wants to understand the security crisis in Central America and its implications for democratic governance in the entire Latin American region. In addition to putting together an essential and timely work on the complexities of the rule of law, Mary Fran Malone has given us a comprehensive account about the challenges for democratization in this zestful but violent region. Rule of Law in Central America' is both a nuanced and fascinating analysis of the conditions that advance and prevent the establishment of law-abiding institutions under the strains of inequality, corruption, and crime. This book will become a standard reference for scholars and practitioners working on citizen security, human rights, and democracy in Latin America." - Jos Miguel Cruz, Department of Politics and International Relations and Center for the Administration of Justice, Florida International University
Mary Fran T Malones study of public opinion in six central American countries is a treasure house of empirical data on citizen responses to rule-of law dilemmas in the region. -- Tamlyn Monson * LSE Review of Books *

Author Bio

Mary Fran T. Malone is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire where she teaches classes on democratization, comparative politics, and Latin American politics. Her research focuses on a crucial component of democratization: establishing the rule of law.