05/05/2025
By Karen Mullins

The School of Criminology and Justice Studies is proud to announce a Dissertation Proposal Defense by Katelyn R. Smith entitled "Irregular Peacebuilding: Security Force Conduct and Collective Efficacy Against Crime and Conflict in Mexico."

Date: Friday, May 23
Time: 9 - 11 a.m.
Location: HSSB Room 431

Committee:

  • Arie Perliger, PhD, Committee Chair, Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Chris Linebarger, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Sheldon Zhang, PhD, Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Angélica Durán-Martínez, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract:

This study seeks to examine the role of population-centric security force conduct in reducing crime and violence in Mexico, theorizing a process through which the activation and mobilization of community resources is vital for achieving public safety. Balancing theories of irregular warfare with criminological frameworks on crime reduction and community-oriented policing, this proposal hypothesizes the conduct of military and law enforcement personnel can complement peacebuilding and public infrastructure efforts that target social bonds to mobilize community resources towards public safety objectives.

After quantitatively analyzing the content of Department of Defense publications across the missions of irregular warfare and extracting the elements deemed necessary for a successful campaign, a foreign language area study (FLAS) and ethnographic content analysis (ECA) of indigenous Uto-Aztecan and Spanish-language sources will be used to transcribe the elements of irregular warfare to the Mexican context. Case studies of Mexico’s experience with counterinsurgency, unconventional warfare, and foreign internal defense will be used to score the alignment of Mexican security forces with the principles of population-centric irregular warfare. A longitudinal municipal-level dataset (2006 - 2025) of the case study regions will pair scores of security force conduct alongside local variables like population health, the quality of social bonds, available sociopolitical resources, and metrics of crime and conflict violence. Findings are expected to shed light on the complex processes driving changes in violence and crime during irregular conflicts and offer insight to discussions on security strategies to combat organized criminal groups.