By Robert Muggah 24/05/2018 Originally published on the Small Wars Journal   Paraphrasing the Greek dramatist Aeschylus, in war, terrorism and crime, truth is the first casualty. While a proper accounting of the human toll of organized violence is critical to achieving justice and stability,…

22/05/2018 Ana Paula Pellegrino, Dandara Tinoco, Renata Giannini, and Robert Muggah Originally published on the Open Democracy               In mid-May 2008, a journalist, photographer and driver were kidnapped and tortured in Batan, a favela in Rio de Janeiro’s west zone. When…

Even from his jail cell, Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, founder of the Workers’ party, which has led Brazil for 13 of the past 15 years, still holds some of the most important keys to Brazil’s elections in October.

27/04/2018 By Deirdre Collings and Robert Muggah Originally published on iPolitics In war-torn Syria, the contents of one’s phone mean the difference between life and death. “My phone is my lifeline,” Umm Hassan told us, one of the more than 150,000 Syrian citizens fleeing the destruction…

Study shows region suffered 33 percent of world’s homicidal violence despite representing eight percent of population. 27/04/2018 Originally published on Al Jazeera Latin America has experienced more than 2.5 million murders since 2000, threatening public security and undermining economic progress, a new report warned. “The…

En cuatro países de la región, Brasil, Colombia, México y Venezuela, se comete un cuarto de todos los asesinatos del mundo. De las 50 ciudades más violentas del mundo, 43 son latinoamericanas. 26/04/2018 Publicado originalmente por DW En Latinoamérica solo vive el 8 por ciento…

Region has experienced 2.5 million murders since 2000 and report paints bleak picture of extreme violence and deteriorating security 26/04/2018 by Tom Phillips Originally published on The Guardian  An activist paints the silhouette of a murder victim at the Coque slum in Recife, Brazil. The…

25/04/2018 by Amanda Erickson Originally published on the Washington Post   Friends of 13-year-old Maria Eduarda Alves da Conceicao — killed by stray bullets while in a gym class at her school — attend her funeral in Mesquita, north of Rio de Janeiro, on April…

Most of the world’s critical infrastructure—nuclear plants, electrical transmission systems, water treatment plants, etc.—is managed by internet-connected hardware and software that makes them vulnerable to cyberattacks. 10/04/2018 By Robert Muggah and Nathan B. Thompson Originally published on the Council on Foreign Relations website   For almost twenty-four hours,…

Rejecting official information channels, Rio’s citizens are navigating their city using crowdsourced data on shootings and robberies as they happen 05/04/2018 By Flávia Milhorance Originally published on The Guardian A red spot on the map means gunfire, so I avoid going there,” says Leonardo Duarte, who…

Latin America’s violent crime, and ways of dealing with it, have lessons for the rest of the world 05/04/2018 Originally published on The Economist ON JANUARY 11th 2017 no one was murdered in El Salvador—a fact that was reported as far away as New Zealand,…

Although democracy has spread from one country to more than 100 countries in the space of two centuries, it has also suffered setbacks along the way, and continues to face resistance to this day. Democracy, after all, is not inevitable, and yet it remains the…

In a country where jails are seen as ticking timebombs, a system of self-rule among inmates has proved a striking success 02/04/2018 by Jo Griffin Originally published on The Guardian Renato Da Silva Junior harbours ambitions of becoming a lawyer. There is just one obstacle:…

Innovations from Kenya Giovanna Marques Kuele and Adriana Erthal Abdenur, in Nairobi With the budget cuts to peace operations implemented last year and the prospect of even more reduction in resources, debates about UN peacekeeping effectiveness have intensified. One of the areas sorely in need…

26/03/2018 by Robbert Muggah Originally published on the Los Angeles Times Gunfire kills or injures at least 127 Americans a day. While the gun debate in the U.S. rages around the question of regulating firearms, it’s the bullets that do the damage. Depending on their weight, velocity…