The relationship between criminal syndicates and politicians has a long history, including episodes even from the earliest years of America's colonies. But while organized crime may not get the headlines it once did in North America, the resurgence of such criminal activity in Latin America, and in some European nations, has grabbed the public's attention. In Dangerous Liaisons noted scholars describe and analyze the role of organized crime in the financing of politics in selected democracies in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico) and in Europe (Bulgaria and Italy). The book seeks to unravel the myths that have developed around crime in these locales, while providing facts and informing the debate on how organized crime corrupts democratic institutions, especially in relation to the funding of political parties and their activities. Among the subjects studied in detail are the role of organized crime in political finance through the lens of Argentina's presidential campaigns of 1999 and 2007; Brazil's elected officeholders and their role in corruption; the weakness of Colombia's democracy; the growing role of money in Costa Rica's politics; the destructive effects of drug money on Mexican institutions; the link between organized crime - narrowly and broadly understood - and political financing in Bulgaria; and crime and political finance in Italy. The work of the scholars corrects what volume editor Kevin Casas-Zamora calls "a glaring gap in the literature on the role of organized crime in the corruption of democratic institutions." That is, the funding of political parties and their activities - which in these cases are mostly election campaigns. The chapters not only present the evidence but also can be regarded as a call to action. Contributors include Leonardo Curzio (CISAN/UNAM), Donatella della Porta (European University Institute), Delia Ferreira Rubio (a member of the international board of directors of Transparency International), Mauricio Rubio (a researcher at the External University of Colombia), Daniel Smilov (Center for Liberal Strategies, Sofia), Bruno Wilhelm Speck (University of Campinas), and Alberto Vannucci (University of Pisa).
Kevin Casas-Zamora is the secretary for political affairs at the Organization of American States. Previously, he was a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution. He has also served as minister of national planning and economic policy and second vice president of Costa Rica. He is the author of numerous studies on campaign finance, elections, democratic governance, and human security in Latin America.
"This is one of the most important and pioneering books on political finance of recent years. It more than fulfills the stated aim of sparking an empirically informed debate on an essential subject, which is normally ignored because it is almost impenetrable. A work of mature scholarship, it also is fascinating to read and combines the insights of leading researchers from Latin America and Europe." Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, Research Committee on Political Finance and Political Corruption, International Political Science Association |"While the entwining of criminals and politicians is nothing new, in recent years this old threat has acquired renewed potency. It has grown and changed much faster than our ability to understand its new forms, their inner workings, and their vulnerabilities. This excellent collection of essays offers a pioneering and provocative look at the impact of dirty money in politics. It is a must-read for experts, policymakers, and anyone concerned about the health of democracy in the 21st century." Moises Naim, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |"This is a well-constructed contribution on a crucial, but difficult to study, topic. Scholarlyliterature on organized crime in Latin America has greatly expanded and improved over the past decade, and there is also better coverage of campaign finance issues. But the intersection between the two remains extremely opaque a topic for investigative journalists and political commentators rather than for academics. This collection makes a serious effort to address the interconnections in a manner that is careful, yet realistic. It presents an analytical challenge to comparative democratization scholars, who will need to build on these early insights." Laurence Whitehead, Nuffield College, Oxford University |"The complex issue of political funding has become even more pressing with the irruption of organized crime in election campaigns. Countering this phenomenon through full transparency is a need of the highest order for democracies all over the world, particularly in the Americas. Endowed with practical political experience and deep academic knowledge of the subject matter, Kevin Casas-Zamora, with the help of a stellar lineup of experts, has produced a collection of relevant case studies, which powerfully help to frame the problem and generate realistic solutions to it." Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General, Organization of American States
