Gangs and urban conflict in Colombia

Abstract

Gangs have been proliferating all over the world. Their way of inhabiting the locality, by exercising crude violence, has placed them at the core of concern about safety in cities. There is no doubt that gangs take to criminality and commit acts of violence. However, the ways of seeing and dealing with urban conflict cannot disregard the other actors participating in the sidewalk war: neighbors organized in urban defense; crackdown operations, armed actors, criminals and even the police. This other side, where the very foundations of institutionality are involved, is often forgotten. By looking at three Colombian cities, this article seeks to under stand the role and means of operation of two of the actors of conflictiveness in the city: neighbors and crackdown operations.