The Ambivalent State: Police-Criminal Collusion at the Urban Margins

The Ambivalent State explores police-criminal relationships in La Salada, Buenos Aires' largest informal market. Through extensive fieldwork and interviews, Javier Auyero documents how law enforcement alternates between enforcing rules and participating in illegal activities. The book examines daily life in an area where the line between legal and illegal commerce constantly shifts. Auyero's research reveals complex networks linking police officers, local criminals, merchants, and residents as they navigate survival in Argentina's informal economy. Residents share their experiences of police who protect them one day and threaten them the next, while merchants describe paying bribes to continue their businesses. The narrative follows key figures in the community as they manage these contradictory relationships. The work presents a nuanced view of state power at society's margins, challenging simple narratives about corruption and law enforcement. Through this examination of La Salada, Auyero demonstrates how formal and informal systems of control coexist and intertwine in urban spaces.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Javier Auyero's overall work: Readers praise Auyero's detailed ethnographic research and his ability to convey complex sociological concepts through vivid descriptions of real people's experiences. His books receive particular recognition for documenting daily life in Argentina's shantytowns without romanticizing poverty or oversimplifying political relationships. What readers liked: - Clear writing that balances academic analysis with accessible narratives - Rich detail from extended fieldwork - Effective use of personal stories to illustrate broader social patterns - Thorough documentation of patron-client networks What readers disliked: - Some sections can be theoretically dense for non-academic readers - Limited suggestions for policy solutions - Focus on specific Argentine contexts may not translate to other regions Ratings: Goodreads averages (across all books): 3.9/5 - Flammable: 4.1/5 (52 ratings) - Poor People's Politics: 3.8/5 (43 ratings) - Patients of the State: 3.9/5 (31 ratings) Amazon ratings average 4.2/5 but with limited number of reviews (<20 per book)

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🔎 Author Javier Auyero conducted extensive fieldwork in La Violencia, a low-income neighborhood in Buenos Aires, living there for extended periods to document the complex relationships between police and criminals. 🏛️ The book challenges traditional views of the state as either present or absent in marginalized areas, showing instead how law enforcement often maintains a strategic "gray zone" of selective action and inaction. 👥 The research reveals how police officers frequently negotiate with local drug dealers, determining when to enforce the law and when to look the other way, creating what Auyero calls "protection rackets." 📊 The study draws on over 100 in-depth interviews with residents, criminals, and police officers, plus thousands of pages of judicial records and newspaper articles spanning from 2009 to 2015. 🌎 While focused on Argentina, the book's findings parallel similar patterns of police-criminal collusion found in other Latin American urban margins, from Rio de Janeiro's favelas to Mexico City's colonias populares.