La encrucijada del temor : redefiniendo la relación entre estado y ciudadanía en Chile

Abstract

Fear of crime is a little known phenomenon and has been barely explored within the social sciences. However, it has a profound social, cultural and economic impact and may even help to redefine how the rule of law is structured. Chile is a fearful country. Several analyses have shown the diverse ways in which fear is present in Chileans’ daily lives and the impact it has on the subjectivity and national culture. However, the multiplicity of interpretations generated over the last decade show the complexity of fear as a social phenomenon, allowing interpretations from a variety of, and even contradictory, perspectives. This study’s conceptual framework is based on three sources of interpretation of the phenomenon that have been rarely combined before. They were indeed developed within different contexts and times and have not been utilized to study the fear of crime in Latin America and especially in Chile. In the first place, the social and cultural changes that have occurred in recent decades. This interpretation hypothesizes that the socio-cultural change in recent decades has created a general discontent which, in turn, materializes as fear. The first source of interpretation emphasizes a macrosocial perspective focused mainly on cultural and political processes in Chile in order to explain the presence of public fear. The second source of interpretation is the traditional analysis that understands fear of crime as the fear of being a victim, or probabilities of becoming one. This analytical line of reasoning concentrates on describing those with greater fear levels and the possible interpretations. Thirdly, the theoretical development of the sociology of emotions allows for a micro-social reading or a detailed analysis of the phenomenon of fear. Fear is reshaping the relationship between the state and the citizens of Chile. The presence of high levels of public insecurity, the perception of impunity and of relative helplessness vis-à-vis a state that is seen as incapable of confronting the problem are elements that have redefined social life in the last two decades.