Defense, Public Security and Democracy

Section on Defense, Public Security and Democracy: Section Business Meeting 2023

1. Summary of the business meeting

14 people attended (13 in person, 1 via Zoom)

Topics discussed:

• Review of activities at LASA Congress 2023, awards
• Replacement of one co-chair and one member of the executive committee, elections
• Desirability of increasing number of section members, problem of costs especially for those living and working in Latin America
• Desirability of organizing a pre-LASA conference in Bogotá
• Replacing one publication award with two: one for best article or book chapter, one for best book (authored, not edited), unanimous approval

2. Results of the section’s elections

Election results

- Eduardo Moncada replaces Carolina Sampó as co-chair 2023-2025

Barnard College, Columbia University 

- Víctor Mijares replaces Annette Idler 2023-2025

Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia

Continuing leadership

Co-chair

- Nicole Jenne (2022-2024), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Committee members

- Jessica Zarkin (2022-2024), Claremont McKenna College

- Anais Passos (2022-2024), Universidade Federal Federal de Santa Catarina

- Cecilia Farfán Méndez (2022-2024), UCSD

3. Review of the activities and plans for the coming term

Successful completion of section panels at LASA Congress, including an intersectional panel organized with the section Gender and Feminist Studies:

- Roundtable: ¿Cómo proveer una mejor seguridad pública en América Latina? El debate entre una mejor implementación de políticas públicas o la adopción de nuevos modelos

- Panel: Gender and Organized Crime; A Discussion from historical, political and socio-economic perspectives - Intersectional panel: Women in international security: fighters, fighting for rights and fighting beyond legality

Planned activities:

- Organize pre-LASA conference one or two days before the LASA 2024 Congress, potentially a publication based on the presentations.

- Organize panels for LASA 2024.

- Section awards:

• Alfred Stepan Lifetime Achievement Award in Defense, Public Security and Democracy;
• Best article or book chapter published by section member
• Best book published by a section member
• Best paper presented at LASA by a junior scholar section member
• Graduate student travel award for attending LASA (in person)

4. Section awards Selection committee:

The section’s Execuritve Committee served as selection committee: Carolina Sampo, Nicole Jenne, Jessice Zarkin, Anais Passos, Cecilia Farfán Méndez, Annette Idler.

Proposals were invited by section members, the selection committee received and discussed these. Decisions were taken by unanimity.

- The 2023 Alfred Stepan Lifetime Achievement Award in Defense, Public Security and Democracy was awarded to: Dr. Thomas Bruneau, Naval Postgraduate School (emeritus).

- Best Article or Edited Volume Chapter by a Section Member.

• Eduardo Moncada (Barnard College, Columbia University), “Resisting Extortion: Victims, Criminals, and States in Latin America”. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

- Best Paper Presented at LASA by Junior Scholar Section Member: not awarded.

- Travel Award for Graduate Student Section Member.

•  Sofía Duarte, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) - Universidad Nacional de Lanus (UNLa) – (received)
• Kristina Hertz, Freie Universität Berlin – (did not attend)

Section on Defense, Public Security and Democracy: Section Business Meeting 2022

o 6 people attended the 2022 Section business meeting where we discussed the following:

o Reviewing Section Activity for LASA 2022

o Partial completion of LASA 2022 Section panels

• Roundtable: Ongoing Challenges to Citizen Security in Latin America Sponsor: Defense, Public Security and Democracy Session Organizer (CANCELLED BY SECTION LEADERSHIP)
• Panel: Saturday, 10:00am - 11:30am Societal-Military Relations: Sociological Perspectives on Armed Forces and Their Interactions with The Public

o Honoring Section on Defense, Public Security, and Democracy 2021 award recipients:

• Bertha Garcia Gallegos: 2022 Alfred Stepan Lifetime Achievement Award
• Nicole Jenne and Rafael Martinez: Best Paper written by a section member
• No winner: Best paper presented at LASA 2020 by a Junior Scholar Section Member
• Pablo Navarro, 2022 Graduate Student Grant to Attend LASA 2022

o 2023 Planned Activities

• 2023 Section awards: Alfred Stepan Lifetime Achievement Award; Best article or book chapter published by Section Member during 2022; Best Paper Presented at LASA 2022 by a Junior Scholar Section Member; Graduate Student Travel Award for travel to LASA 2022.
• 2023 Pre-LASA, and mini-conferences for section via zoom hosted by section co-chairs.

o Election Results

• Nicole Jenne replaces Diego Esparza as Co-Chair (2022-2024), Instituto de Ciencia Politica Universidad de Chile
• Jessica Zarkin (2022-2024), Claremont McKenna College
• Anais Passos (2022-2024), Universidade Federal Federal de Santa Catarina
• Cecilia Farfan Mendez (2022-2024), UCSD

o Continuing Leadership

• Carolina Sampo Elected Section Co-Chair , National University of La Plata (2021-2023)
• Annette Idler Elected to Replace Arturo Sotomayor as executive committee member, University of Oxford (2021-2023)

I. Section Business Meeting 2021

A. Attendance
6 people attended the 2022 Section business meeting, in which the following items were addressed.

B. Reviewing Section Activity for LASA 2020
Successful completion of LASA 2021 Section panels

 LASA Section Panel - Saturday, 10:00am - 11:30am Societal-Military Relations: Sociological Perspectives on Armed Forces and Their Interactions with The Public
Sponsor: Defense, Public Security and Democracy

Session Organizer: Diego Esparza, University of North Texas

Chair: Diego Esparza, University of North Texas
Discussant: Maria Celina S. Araujo
Anais M. Passos
Belén González
Carols Solar

(Cancelled) LASA Section Roundtable - Sunday, 08:00am - 09:30am Ongoing Challenges to Citizen Security in Latin America Sponsor: Defense, Public Security and Democracy

C. 2023 proposed panel ideas

TBD Summer Section Meeting

Co-Chairs will bring proposed ideas together to create one workshop for Senior scholars, and a panel for junior scholars. We will contact section membres in the summer to help coordinate panel submissions.

D. Chair Section Meeting

Concerns shared about LASA purchse of building and renovations to be LASA HQ.

Concerns shared by section about section communications.

Concerns shared about LASA control over Twitter and Facebook Accounts.

Call for creation of LASA Section Meetings Assembly to Act as LASA Legislature.

Concerns over costs of LASA.

E. Section Account Balance

We discussed the section account balance minus awards, and the projected balance for 2021-2022. With the projected enrollment in the section, we expect to continue two awards for student travel. Section Account Balance.  Minus the money awarded and costs of awards, we now have a projected account for 2021-2022 of $3,144.47. We are solvent.

II. Honoring Section on Defense, Public Security, and Democracy 2021 award recipients:

Alfred Stepan Lifetime Achievement Award in Defense, Public Security, and Democracy awarded to:

2022: Bertha Garcia Gallegos Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador

Best Article or Edited Volume Chapter by Section Member

2022: Rafael Martinez and Nicole Jenne "Domestic military missions in Latin America: Civil-Military Relations and the perpetuation of democratic deficits," published in the European Journal of International Security

Best Paper Presented at LASA by Junior Scholar Section Member

2022: Not Awarded

Travel Award for Graduate Student Section Member
2022: Turned into Grant to Pay for Virtual Lasa

Pablo Navarro. Urquiza

 Planned 2022 Section awards:
Alfred Stepan Lifetime Achievement Award in Defense, Public Security, and Democracy; Best article or book chapter published by Section Member during 2020; Best Paper Presented at LASA 2020 by a Junior Scholar Section Member; Two Graduate Student Travel Award for travel to LASA 2022.

III. Section Elections:  Election Leadership for LASA 2022

LASA Leadership for the Defense, Public Security and Democracy Section for 2022-23 and in Vancouver 2023 conference will be made up of the following individuals elected by the section:

Carolina Sampo Co-Chair, National University of La Plata (2021-2023)

Nicole Jenne Co-Chair (2022-2024), Instituto de Ciencia Politica Universidad de Chile

Executive Committee

Annette Idler (2021-2023), University of Oxford

Jessica Zorkin (2022-2024), Claremont Graduate School

 Anais Passo (2022-2024), Universidade Federal Federal de Santa Catarina, clari.passos@gmail.com

 Cecilia Farfan Mendez (2022-2024), UCSD, cfarfanmendez@ucsd.edu