Democratic Legitimacy and Public Insecurity: Crime and Democracy in El Salvador and Guatemala
Across Latin America, and in many other regions of the developing world, fear of crime and perceptions of social disorder are widespread. The failure of the state and its public order and criminal justice institutions to respond adequately by providing protection and basic security is apparent, and it may threaten democratic development. Nowhere is the security problem more apparent than in the Central American nations of El Salvador and Guatemala. Out of the peace processes that ended the violent civil conflicts in El Salvador and Guatemala emerged significant reforms geared toward the construction of democratic institutions; among them was the separation of public security and military functions. During the period of the civil wars, the police function of each country was highly militarized and cruelly repressive, making the demilitarization of police functions a necessary component of the peace processes. Despite democratic transitions, however, police and judicial processes remain abusive, corrupt, and ineffective. In the post-transition environment, "citizen security" concerns have replaced direct threats to states or regimes by organized opposition groups. No longer are civil wars the predominant threat to the state; it is now crime and the resulting civil insecurity that endangers the nascent democratic government. As governments seek to improve public security, they often resort to repressive measures, such as limitations on the right of habeas corpus and the declaration of states of emergency under which the police and army operate with few restrictions and where civil rights are curtailed. Moreover, in some countries, the response to police weakness and corruption is to re-engage the