This monograph addresses the role of criminal non-state actors in South America. In a departure from traditional analysis, the author notes that non-state actors that affect political and social life in the Global South are not always terrorist actors or the result of political disputes. In several countries, criminal actors with a high degree of complexity emerge, capable of performing violent actions that proportionally surpass the economy of crime. Furthermore, they are capable of carrying out actions beyond the state, in a transnational approach, connecting with criminal organizations in other countries and or even other violent non-state actors. This volume consolidates studies on criminal non-state actors in South America, analyzing their historical development, governance capacity, profiling key actors, and assessing their overall effect on international relations as a whole. As such, it will be useful to students and researchers interested in international security, criminology, Latin American studies, and peace and conflict studies.

Marcos Alan Ferreira is an Associate Professor at Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), Brazil, Visiting Professor at Universidad Núr, Bolivia, and Senior Research Fellow at Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Previously he was Visiting Researcher at University of Manchester, UK, and Uppsala University, Sweden. His articles have been published in top journals like International Studies Perspectives, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Latin American Research Review, Trends in Organized Crime, Journal of Political Science Education, and others. His research is focused on the impacts of organized crime and state violence on peace in Brazil and South America.