Publications

Understanding and Addressing Youth in “Gangs” in Mexico

08/28/13 – The Justice in Mexico Project at the University of San Diego in collaboration with the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars presents the most recent publication in a series of working papers that analyze the range of civic engagement experiences taking place in Mexico to strengthen the rule of law and improve security in the face of organized crime related violence.

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Understanding and Addressing Youth in “Gangs” in Mexico

By Nathan P. Jones.

The report  seeks to understand and define the gang issue in Mexico, establish the regional histories and sociologies of what is known about these gangs, and understand the causes of youth gang involvement. The paper briefly describes U.S.-Mexico bilateral efforts on youth gang prevention via the Merida Initiative, and identifies a sampling of existing civil society groups and programs geared specifically toward addressing youth gangs in Mexico and Central America. The report concludes with a set of policy recommendations for the U.S. and Mexican governments on how to best support civil society and strengthen relevant state institutions.

Nathan P. Jones, Ph.D., is the Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy at the Baker Institute. His research focuses on drug violence in Mexico.

 Click here to read the paper.

 

You can also access the previous papers in this series:

Civic Engagement and the Judicial Reform: The role of civil society in reforming criminal justice in Mexico by Rodríguez Ferreira, Octavio.

The Victims’ Movement in Mexico, by Villagran, Lauren.

Civil Society, the Government and the Development of Citizen Security  by Dudley, Steven and Rodríguez Sandra.

The Effects of Drug-War Related Violence on Mexico’s Press and Democracy, by Edmonds-Poli, Emily.

 

This Working Paper is the product of a joint project on civic engagement and public security in Mexico coordinated by the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Justice in Mexico Project at the University of San Diego.

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