Security, Development, and Fear In Guatemala: Enduring Ties and Lasting Consequences

Abstract

This paper investigates the long‐term ties between security, development, and fear in Guatemala. I argue that as the development apparatus in Guatemala has long been structured around violence and security concerns, development encounters in the contemporary era continue to be shaped by fear. The confluence of multiple mechanisms of fear, including the legacies of violence, surveillance, and coercion, structure development encounters in profound ways. Drawing on semistructured interviews with development practitioners, I examine their perceptions of fear's impact on development encounters at the local level to highlight the problematic culture of fear rhetoric, which serves to obscure practices through which lived experiences of fear are reproduced. Emphases on social cohesion, solidarity, and behaviors which “better contribute” to development work to mask the racialized elements of these discourses and ultimately serve to silence and delegitimize indigenous demands for structural change and justice in the country

Key words:

• development
• fear
• Guatemala
• security

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (Award #0927269) as well as grants from Indiana University (the Latin American Fellowship, the John H. Edwards Fellowship, and a fellowship from the College of Arts and Sciences). I would also like to thank the many individuals in Guatemala who made this work possible as well as the supportive staff at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica.

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (Award #0927269) as well as grants from Indiana University (the Latin American Fellowship, the John H. Edwards Fellowship, and a fellowship from the College of Arts and Sciences). I would also like to thank the many individuals in Guatemala who made this work possible as well as the supportive staff at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica.

Notes

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (Award #0927269) as well as grants from Indiana University (the Latin American Fellowship, the John H. Edwards Fellowship, and a fellowship from the College of Arts and Sciences). I would also like to thank the many individuals in Guatemala who made this work possible as well as the supportive staff at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica.

1. I use the phrase “development encounter” to describe the myriad engagements between a variety of stakeholders (including practitioners, policymakers, donors, and local community members) involved in the diverse projects and processes housed under the rubric of “development.”

2. In an effort to maintain anonymity, I do not name precise locations, organizations, or individuals in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

National Science Foundation

Indiana University

Notes on contributors

Rebecca Clouser

Rebecca Clouser, Lecturer, International and Area Studies, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1088, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130; [[email protected]].