Government and Governance of Security

"Government and Governance of Security will not only be essential reading for scholars of Latin American security policy. It also makes excellent instructional material for teachers of courses on qualitative methods that are looking for a well-crafted case study that combines broad historical narrative with micro-case studies of individual events within a coherent account of institutional change."

Democratization

"… el caso de estudio que presenta el libro de Carlos Solar constituye un aporte conceptualmente sólido y metodológicamente coherente con los argumentos y verificación empírica, conforme a los planteamientos y fundamentos del libro. Representa, asimismo, una sugerente reflexión y propuesta para la investigación científica, como así también para la recomendación de políticas públicas internacionales en una materia de gran relevancia e interés, tanto en el mundo académico y especializado, como para los gobiernos y actores políticos comprometidos con la gobernanza de la seguridad en el contexto contemporáneo."

Estudios Internacionales

"Clearly differentiated from previous publications, Carlos Solar’s book is a significant contribution to the literature on crime and how government functions in the region."

Bulletin of Latin American Research

"Unlike Mexico and Central America organized crime and violence are minimized in Chile. Carlos Solar's excellent book analyzes how Chile, as it consolidated its democracy, also created and empowered a set of institutions to ensure public security."

Thomas C. Bruneau, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Naval Postgraduate School

"Solar’s book is a nuanced and theoretically rich analysis of a regional problem that affects even stable democracies like Chile. The historical institutional approach provides a fascinating view of how Chilean political institutions developed and responded in the postauthoritarian era. His framework for understanding governance can be usefully applied to other cases, as can his policy recommendations for all states fighting organized crime."

Gregory Weeks, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

"Carlos Solar has produced an outstanding book on the complex institutional challenges Latin American states are facing today in their combat against organised crime and insecurity. This seminal work provides a fascinating account of the recent Chilean experience in which a series of security networks and public policies has been established to counteract organized crime. Solar offers a fresh new way of looking at governance and policy-making issues in the field of public security which can be transferred and applied into other developing nations."

Patricio Silva, Leiden University, The Netherlands