ABSTRACT

This article explores the relationship between informal processes of urbanisation and order-making at Brazil's urban margins. It draws on research conducted in contrasting neighbourhoods in the peripheries of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, analysing the influence of different kinds of criminal organisation on these areas. It is argued that the unpredictable processes surrounding peripheral urbanisation – the irregular occupation or subdivision of land, the growth of diverse markets, physical consolidation and, in some cases, eventual formalisation – provide a dynamic backdrop against which local order and disorder are produced. To theorise these interrelated processes, I mobilise the concept of ‘pacification’. This is usually used to refer to violent state interventions against socially and racially marginalised populations that are followed by measures designed to create more lasting stability. However, I argue that, while it may ultimately have such effects, pacification should be understood as a provisional outcome of ongoing negotiations between state and criminal actors rather than as a coherent, top-down project.

摘要

本文探讨了非正式的城市化进程与巴西城市边缘的订单制定之间的关系。它借鉴了在里约热内卢和圣保罗外围的对比社区进行的研究，分析了不同类型的犯罪组织对这些地区的影响。有人认为，围绕外围城市化的不可预测的过程——土地的不规则占用或细分、多样化市场的增长、实体整合以及在某些情况下最终的正规化——提供了一个动态的背景，在此背景下产生了当地的秩序和混乱。为了对这些相互关联的过程进行理论化，我提出了“平息”的概念。这通常用于指代国家对社会和种族边缘化人群进行暴力干预，随后采取旨在创造更持久稳定的措施。然而，我认为，虽然它最终可能会产生这样的影响，但应该将安抚理解为国家与犯罪行为者之间正在进行的谈判的临时结果，而不是一个连贯的、自上而下的项目。