Democratic Transitions and Large-Scale Criminal Violence with Political Scientist Guillermo Trejo

Interviewed by Kellogg Institute Doctoral Affiliates Mayra Ortiz and Laura López, political scientist Guillermo Trejo discusses how weak democratic transitions can lead to the outbreak of large-scale criminal violence, focusing on Mexico. He presents the main findings of his book co-authored along with Sandra Ley, “Votes, Drugs and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico,” which offers evidence on the partisan logics of the ‘war on drugs’ and power fragmentation’s impacts on cartels’ and state’s incentives in engaging with violence.