Alternative Governance in Guatemala: Responses to Land Conflict and Criminal Violence in the Ixil

This thesis analyses alternative forms of governance to manage land conflict and criminal violence in the Ixil region in Guatemala. Under conditions of weak state presence, European-centric governance approaches have been sceptical about governance in countries with a weak institutional culture and precarious democracy. However, on pointing out the democratic stance governance should achieve, they have overlooked alternative forms of order and the contribution of (non)state actors on the provision of services. In an attempt to solve this dilemma, this thesis proposes to broad the notion of governance to understand “who governs for whom, and how are governance services provided under the conditions of weak statehood?” (Risse 4). The study suggests looking at how are (non)state actors related to each other in the sense that they provide services otherwise not provided by the state. Based on a study of the Ixil region, this thesis describes operations and practices amongst an array of ...Show moreThis thesis analyses alternative forms of governance to manage land conflict and criminal violence in the Ixil region in Guatemala. Under conditions of weak state presence, European-centric governance approaches have been sceptical about governance in countries with a weak institutional culture and precarious democracy. However, on pointing out the democratic stance governance should achieve, they have overlooked alternative forms of order and the contribution of (non)state actors on the provision of services. In an attempt to solve this dilemma, this thesis proposes to broad the notion of governance to understand “who governs for whom, and how are governance services provided under the conditions of weak statehood?” (Risse 4). The study suggests looking at how are (non)state actors related to each other in the sense that they provide services otherwise not provided by the state. Based on a study of the Ixil region, this thesis describes operations and practices amongst an array of (non)state actors that work and cooperate, separately and together, for the provision of services through arrangements we characterise as ‘alternative governance’.Show less

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Alternative Governance in Guatemala: Responses to Land Conflict and Criminal Violence in the Ixil