This edited collection discusses the rule of law in the Amazon and the capabilities of the region’s sovereign states to police their territory considering security matters. Comprised of nine countries, including a European Union member, the Amazon region features states facing political instability, poverty, social inequalities, high levels of corruption, and lack of trust by their populations. This context is aggravated by the presence of criminal organizations operating there and shaping transnational bonds. Notably, the world’s foremost cocaine-producing countries—Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia—are located in the region, presenting related turmoil and instability. Moreover, as home to the largest rainforest on Earth and the widest biodiversity, the region is an object of concern due to environmental reasons. The protection of these natural resources as well as the traditional peoples living there is intertwined with issues of development, security, and policing.
The book delves into questions on the international agenda, such as: how is it possible to sustain the rule of law in the Amazon? What are the states’ capabilities for controlling the territory and enforcing the law? How do these states deal with the growing urban violence in the region? What are the capabilities of public authorities for proposing laws and policies, and judicial systems to process, prevent, and suppress different crimes such as drug dealing, smuggling, human trafficking, terrorism, and environmental crimes?
The book fills a gap in English-language scholarship exploring the context of the rule of law in the Amazon and the impact on policing activities. It is ideal for a wide range of audiences, including policing scholars, law enforcement and community leaders, and students focusing on criminal justice and the Amazon.
Introduction Introduction: Why the Rule of Law? Vicente Riccio and Guilherme Lopes Part I: Crime, Violence, and the Rule of Law in the Amazo 1 – Rule of Law and Environmental Crimes in Southern Amazonas Vicente Riccio, Giuseppe Giura, Deborah De Felice, Dorlí João Marques, Antonio Gelson de Oliveira Nascimento 2 – The Law in a Frontier Region: The Peruvian State and its Complex Relationships with the Amazon Oscar Espinosa 3 – Devastating devastation: impact of crime in the Colombian Amazon Juan Carlos Ruiz Vazquez, Rubén Sánchez David 4 - Organized Crime and the Intelligence System in Amazonas Rodrigo Castro, Fabio Licata, Giuseppe Giura, Sandro Sarkis, and Vicente Riccio 5 - Ecuador’s presence in the Amazon: security, weak institutions, questioned capabilities and strategic opportunities Katalina Barreiro Santana and Diego Pérez Enríquez 6 - Strategic resources, border economies, urbanization of the indigenous population and transnational threats in the Amazon: the security problems of Lago Agrio in Ecuador Milton Reyes Herrera, Patricio Trujillo Montalvo 7 – Policing Indigenous Lands Impacted by Hydroelectrical Dams in the Brazilian State of Rondônia Rafael, Artur de Souza Moret, Jean Carlo dos Santos 8 – A Polycentric Governance Model through the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization: Capabilities for Tackling Transnational Threats? Carlos Alberto Teixeira Lazary, Fabio Queiroz and Guilherme Lopes Part II – Policing Challenges in the Amazon 9 – Being a Policewoman in the Brazilian Amazon Ludmila Ribeiro 10 – Procedural Justice Perceptions and Hierarchy at the Civil Police of Amazonas Eduardo Magrone, Mario Aufiero, Vicente Riccio, Wagner Silveira Rezende 11 – Pressure on the Brazilian Amazon border and State discretion in granting asylum to Venezuelans Janaína de Mendonça Fernandes Part III – Law and the Environmental Protection in the Amazon 12 – Intellectual Property Rights Legislation as a Source of Inequality: a case study based on natural genetic resources from the Amazon region Marcos Vinício Chein Feres 13 - The environmental protection in French Guiana: normative scheme and stakes Frédéric Bondil, Carole Hassoun, Mathilde Kamal-Girard, Jean-Philippe Vauthier 14 – Piracy and Traditional Knowledge in the Amazon Raimundo Pontes 15 – The Brazilian Amazon Between Geopolitics and Law Guilherme Sandoval Góes and Antonio dos Santos
Vicente Riccio holds a doctorate in Sociology from Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro and was the coordinator of the graduate program of Law and Innovation at Federal University of Juiz de Fora (2017–2023), Brazil. He also has worked as a consultant for many public institutions in Brazil, such as the Ministry of Justice, Public Security Secretary of Rio de Janeiro, and Civil Police of Amazonas. His research interests are police reform, legal systems in developing democracies, media, justice, and video evidence. He has organized Police and Society in Brazil (Routledge) book, coedited with Wesley Skogan (Northwestern University). He has also published articles and book chapters in international and Brazilian publications. Guilherme Lopes da Cunha holds a Postdoctoral in International Relations at the University of Brasília (UnB), PhD, and MA in International Political Economy at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He is a Professor at the Brazilian War College (ESG), and the Brazilian Defense College (ESD), at the Ministry of Defense of Brazil. He has organized Brazil in the Geopolitics of Amazonia and Antarctica (Lexington Books), coedited with Fábio Albergaria de Queiroz (Brazilian Defense College), and Ana Flávia Barros-Platiau (University of Brasilia).
