Peace and Violence in South America: From Security to a Peace Studies Approach

Abstract

Taking as a starting point that Brazil cannot be analyzed without a thorough analysis of its sociogeographical surroundings—in this case, the subcontinent of South America—this chapter aims to offer an alternative perspective, based on the concepts of Peace Studies, for understanding the violence and social conflicts in South America. Although this approach is appropriate for understanding the direct and structural violence that permeates South American societies, Peace Studies has rarely been applied to the analysis of the region’s social conflicts. However, traditional approaches to the study of international security are inadequate to understand the current violence in South America. The chapter will first provide the current status of the study of violent conflicts in South America, explaining the conceptual frameworks most commonly used to observe social conflict and violence in the region: state-centered theories, the Copenhagen School, and the human security approach. The relevant concepts of Peace Studies will then be explored as a means to revisit the alarming prevalence of violent deaths, direct, and structural violence seen in poor neighborhoods of South America. The chapter concludes by demonstrating that concepts such as structural violence and positive peace create new opportunities for a multidisciplinary analysis.