Pablo Policzer - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Pablo Policzer
The Centre of International Relations (University of …, 2005
Even though non-state armed groups commit some of the most serious human rights violations, inter... more Even though non-state armed groups commit some of the most serious human rights violations, international human rights policies remain anachronistically focused on states. Indeed, the international political architecture is premised on a sharp distinction between states and non-state groups, with separate policies for each. However, a look at the various organizations that actually commit human rights abuses reveals not a sharp dichotomy, but a continuum, ranging from states to non-state groups. The paper presents a typological framework to analyze this continuum, and argues that more effective human rights policies will need to take this much more into account.
Territory, Politics, Governance
The Politics of Violence in Latin America, 2019
cpsa-acsp.ca, 2011
... that actual constitutions are aligned with, and supportive of democracy (see Policzer 2010 ..... more ... that actual constitutions are aligned with, and supportive of democracy (see Policzer 2010 ... For democracy's sake, constitutionalism is the only attractive view of what constitutions ought to ... However, we believe that analysts and policy makers are better served by considering more ...
* In preparing this article, I benefited from conversations and interviews with various field exp... more * In preparing this article, I benefited from conversations and interviews with various field experts, from Human Rights Watch and elsewhere. I am especially grateful to Wolfgang Heinrich, Sidney Jones, Julianne Kippenberg, Robin Kirk, Alan Kuperman, Will Reno, ...
International Studies Association Conference, …, 2005
Regions and Cohesion
Durante las últimas cuatro décadas, buena parte del desarrollo económico en América Latina ha gir... more Durante las últimas cuatro décadas, buena parte del desarrollo económico en América Latina ha girado en torno a la industria extractiva bajo un marco regulatorio neoliberal. Este modelo ha provocado protestas e incluso, en algunos casos, procesos constituyentes emergentes. En este contexto, reflexionamos por qué el marco neoliberal para el ordenamiento territorial sigue ocasionando resistencia a pesar de sus cambios y promesas. El neoliberalismo originalmente surgió a mediados del siglo anterior como una manera menos conflictiva, más tecnocrática, de tomar decisiones fundamentales en la economía y la política ambiental. En este artículo nos enfocamos en dos casos emblemáticos de oposición en Perú y Chile donde las poblaciones locales lograron imponer su mirada ante la del Estado.
Revista Estudos Historicos, Dec 1, 1998
Journal of Latin American Studies
States are the primary political entities challenged by armed groups. States become legitimate in... more States are the primary political entities challenged by armed groups. States become legitimate in part by being able to maintain political stability within a given territory. If a state cannot effectively police its internal borders and prevent threats from armed groups, it loses legitimacy. States therefore normally seek to suppress armed groups within their territory. Some states will succeed in these efforts, others will fail. It is only when they fail that they will consider engaging armed groups politically. Notwithstanding the overthrow of the Taliban regime and the expulsion of Al Qaeda from its base in Afghanistan, five years on the United States' war against Al Qaeda has reached a stalemate. Osama bin Laden remains at large, Al Qaeda has not been defeated, and there is growing speculation that the organization possibly cannot be defeated, at least in the near term. Opposition to the United States and support for Al Qaeda have both increased over the past several years. Moreover, Al Qaeda has learned how to disperse and survive in response to US military pressures, and it is arguably a more formidable adversary, and harder to annihilate, than in the past. The stalemate against Al Qaeda has prompted two types of responses. The first deplores the distraction of Iraq and the dispersion of US national security attention away from the focus on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. This response argues that the current US approach, especially on Iraq, has multiplied the number of enemies poised against it, weakened its position in the world, and undermined its own citizens' security. The second type of response urges recognizing Al Qaeda as a rational actor with clear political demands, and calls for negotiations with the group over these. The argument here is that such political engagement offers more promise than a prolonged military standoff. By contrast to both of these positions, we argue that Al Qaeda's dispersion needs to be taken more seriously as a political, military, organizational, and analytical challenge. Paradoxically, the same dispersal strategies that have allowed the center of Al Qaeda to survive by making it harder to target militarily, make it easier to bypass politically. In other words, the very adaptation that has led to the calls for talking to Al Qaeda-its flexibility and resilience-is also the strongest reason for not doing so at its center. Instead, engagement should take place at the periphery. Devolving engagement in this way requires disaggregating demands, evading global divides, and multiplying local and regional responses.
El aforismo de Marx según el cual los pueblos hacen su propia historia pero bajo circunstancias q... more El aforismo de Marx según el cual los pueblos hacen su propia historia pero bajo circunstancias que no necesariamente eligen cobra particular relevancia en los países que acaban de salir de regímenes autoritarios. La ironía en estos casos es que el peso de la historia, muchas ...
... Word count: 814. Text sample: Genocide in Chile? An Assessment Maureen S. Hiebert 1 andPablo ... more ... Word count: 814. Text sample: Genocide in Chile? An Assessment Maureen S. Hiebert 1 andPablo Policzer 2 In Marcia Esparza ed. State Violence and Genocide in Latin America: the Dirty War Years Critical Series on Terrorism (London UK: Routledge) forthcoming 2009. ...
Coercion is at the center of politics, yet how it is organized has remained poorly understood. Th... more Coercion is at the center of politics, yet how it is organized has remained poorly understood. This dissertation analyzes how the Chilean military regime (1973-90) organized coercion, focusing especially on two major shifts during the period of most institutional flux, from 1973-78. ...
… Human Rights Violations: New Systematic Studies, 2004
In this article we assess the impact of the International Labour Organization's 1989 Indigeno... more In this article we assess the impact of the International Labour Organization's 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (ILO C-169) since it entered into effect in 1991. We examine the Convention's impact on selected key Latin American states which have ratified the Convention: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. We analyze each country's constitutional order, legislative and jurisprudential developments, as well as different policy developments concerning indigenous peoples and their rights. We also trace the development of indigenous peoples' rights in the same period in two non-ratifying states—Australia and Canada—along the same dimensions. We compare the impacts that these laws and policies have had on indigenous peoples' rights, both in the six Latin American signatories as well as in Australia and Canada. In particular, we examine the indigenous right to political participation and self-government, as well as on the right to land, terr...
The University of Calgary Press acknowledges the support of the Government of Alberta through the... more The University of Calgary Press acknowledges the support of the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Media Fund for our publications. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. We acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program.
In The Rise and Fall of Repression in Chile, Pablo Policzer tackles the difficult task of analyzi... more In The Rise and Fall of Repression in Chile, Pablo Policzer tackles the difficult task of analyzing how authoritarian regimes utilize coercion. Even in relatively open societies, coercive institutions such as the police and military tend to be secretive and mistrustful of ...
Aquelarre, Feb 7, 1990
El 14 de diciembre pasado Chile tuvo, por primera vez en 19 años, elecciones presidenciales. Con ... more El 14 de diciembre pasado Chile tuvo, por primera vez en 19 años, elecciones presidenciales. Con el 55% de los votos, Patricio Aylwin encabezó la victoria de la oposición al regimen militar. Aunque él haya ganado decisivamente y los partidos de su ...
The Centre of International Relations (University of …, 2005
Even though non-state armed groups commit some of the most serious human rights violations, inter... more Even though non-state armed groups commit some of the most serious human rights violations, international human rights policies remain anachronistically focused on states. Indeed, the international political architecture is premised on a sharp distinction between states and non-state groups, with separate policies for each. However, a look at the various organizations that actually commit human rights abuses reveals not a sharp dichotomy, but a continuum, ranging from states to non-state groups. The paper presents a typological framework to analyze this continuum, and argues that more effective human rights policies will need to take this much more into account.
Territory, Politics, Governance
The Politics of Violence in Latin America, 2019
cpsa-acsp.ca, 2011
... that actual constitutions are aligned with, and supportive of democracy (see Policzer 2010 ..... more ... that actual constitutions are aligned with, and supportive of democracy (see Policzer 2010 ... For democracy's sake, constitutionalism is the only attractive view of what constitutions ought to ... However, we believe that analysts and policy makers are better served by considering more ...
* In preparing this article, I benefited from conversations and interviews with various field exp... more * In preparing this article, I benefited from conversations and interviews with various field experts, from Human Rights Watch and elsewhere. I am especially grateful to Wolfgang Heinrich, Sidney Jones, Julianne Kippenberg, Robin Kirk, Alan Kuperman, Will Reno, ...
International Studies Association Conference, …, 2005
Regions and Cohesion
Durante las últimas cuatro décadas, buena parte del desarrollo económico en América Latina ha gir... more Durante las últimas cuatro décadas, buena parte del desarrollo económico en América Latina ha girado en torno a la industria extractiva bajo un marco regulatorio neoliberal. Este modelo ha provocado protestas e incluso, en algunos casos, procesos constituyentes emergentes. En este contexto, reflexionamos por qué el marco neoliberal para el ordenamiento territorial sigue ocasionando resistencia a pesar de sus cambios y promesas. El neoliberalismo originalmente surgió a mediados del siglo anterior como una manera menos conflictiva, más tecnocrática, de tomar decisiones fundamentales en la economía y la política ambiental. En este artículo nos enfocamos en dos casos emblemáticos de oposición en Perú y Chile donde las poblaciones locales lograron imponer su mirada ante la del Estado.
Revista Estudos Historicos, Dec 1, 1998
Journal of Latin American Studies
States are the primary political entities challenged by armed groups. States become legitimate in... more States are the primary political entities challenged by armed groups. States become legitimate in part by being able to maintain political stability within a given territory. If a state cannot effectively police its internal borders and prevent threats from armed groups, it loses legitimacy. States therefore normally seek to suppress armed groups within their territory. Some states will succeed in these efforts, others will fail. It is only when they fail that they will consider engaging armed groups politically. Notwithstanding the overthrow of the Taliban regime and the expulsion of Al Qaeda from its base in Afghanistan, five years on the United States' war against Al Qaeda has reached a stalemate. Osama bin Laden remains at large, Al Qaeda has not been defeated, and there is growing speculation that the organization possibly cannot be defeated, at least in the near term. Opposition to the United States and support for Al Qaeda have both increased over the past several years. Moreover, Al Qaeda has learned how to disperse and survive in response to US military pressures, and it is arguably a more formidable adversary, and harder to annihilate, than in the past. The stalemate against Al Qaeda has prompted two types of responses. The first deplores the distraction of Iraq and the dispersion of US national security attention away from the focus on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. This response argues that the current US approach, especially on Iraq, has multiplied the number of enemies poised against it, weakened its position in the world, and undermined its own citizens' security. The second type of response urges recognizing Al Qaeda as a rational actor with clear political demands, and calls for negotiations with the group over these. The argument here is that such political engagement offers more promise than a prolonged military standoff. By contrast to both of these positions, we argue that Al Qaeda's dispersion needs to be taken more seriously as a political, military, organizational, and analytical challenge. Paradoxically, the same dispersal strategies that have allowed the center of Al Qaeda to survive by making it harder to target militarily, make it easier to bypass politically. In other words, the very adaptation that has led to the calls for talking to Al Qaeda-its flexibility and resilience-is also the strongest reason for not doing so at its center. Instead, engagement should take place at the periphery. Devolving engagement in this way requires disaggregating demands, evading global divides, and multiplying local and regional responses.
El aforismo de Marx según el cual los pueblos hacen su propia historia pero bajo circunstancias q... more El aforismo de Marx según el cual los pueblos hacen su propia historia pero bajo circunstancias que no necesariamente eligen cobra particular relevancia en los países que acaban de salir de regímenes autoritarios. La ironía en estos casos es que el peso de la historia, muchas ...
... Word count: 814. Text sample: Genocide in Chile? An Assessment Maureen S. Hiebert 1 andPablo ... more ... Word count: 814. Text sample: Genocide in Chile? An Assessment Maureen S. Hiebert 1 andPablo Policzer 2 In Marcia Esparza ed. State Violence and Genocide in Latin America: the Dirty War Years Critical Series on Terrorism (London UK: Routledge) forthcoming 2009. ...
Coercion is at the center of politics, yet how it is organized has remained poorly understood. Th... more Coercion is at the center of politics, yet how it is organized has remained poorly understood. This dissertation analyzes how the Chilean military regime (1973-90) organized coercion, focusing especially on two major shifts during the period of most institutional flux, from 1973-78. ...
… Human Rights Violations: New Systematic Studies, 2004
In this article we assess the impact of the International Labour Organization's 1989 Indigeno... more In this article we assess the impact of the International Labour Organization's 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (ILO C-169) since it entered into effect in 1991. We examine the Convention's impact on selected key Latin American states which have ratified the Convention: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. We analyze each country's constitutional order, legislative and jurisprudential developments, as well as different policy developments concerning indigenous peoples and their rights. We also trace the development of indigenous peoples' rights in the same period in two non-ratifying states—Australia and Canada—along the same dimensions. We compare the impacts that these laws and policies have had on indigenous peoples' rights, both in the six Latin American signatories as well as in Australia and Canada. In particular, we examine the indigenous right to political participation and self-government, as well as on the right to land, terr...
The University of Calgary Press acknowledges the support of the Government of Alberta through the... more The University of Calgary Press acknowledges the support of the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Media Fund for our publications. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. We acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program.
In The Rise and Fall of Repression in Chile, Pablo Policzer tackles the difficult task of analyzi... more In The Rise and Fall of Repression in Chile, Pablo Policzer tackles the difficult task of analyzing how authoritarian regimes utilize coercion. Even in relatively open societies, coercive institutions such as the police and military tend to be secretive and mistrustful of ...
Aquelarre, Feb 7, 1990
El 14 de diciembre pasado Chile tuvo, por primera vez en 19 años, elecciones presidenciales. Con ... more El 14 de diciembre pasado Chile tuvo, por primera vez en 19 años, elecciones presidenciales. Con el 55% de los votos, Patricio Aylwin encabezó la victoria de la oposición al regimen militar. Aunque él haya ganado decisivamente y los partidos de su ...