The Mexican drug violence: hybrid warfare, predatory capitalism and the logic of cruelty

Abstract

My thesis analyzes the

Mexican Drug Violence. This conflict follows partially the model of a so-called

‘new war’, post-modern conflicts in which armed groups merge with organized

crime and deliberately create a situation of chaos and lawlessness. Actually, it has actually moved beyond that into a form of hybrid warfare: multidimensional, elusive, unpredictable and fought on many fronts with different weapons and intensities. The war being waged by radical Islam is another example of hybrid warfare. From an economic perspective, the cartels are extreme examples of predatory capitalist corporations that thrive in a neoliberal, globalized economy. Just as legal business, cartels face issues such as human resources, publicity and branding, corporate social responsibility, diversification and innovation. From an anthropological point of view, I investigate the motivations of the actors who engage in criminal activities and extreme cruelty. There are remarkable similar mechanism how people are being taught to kill and I compare Mexican professional assassins with West-African child soldiers and Western Jihadists. Extreme acts of violence beyond the instrumental are often called ‘senseless’. However, this closes the door for investigation. There is a logic and meaning behind ‘inhumane’ violence that is in fact part of the repertoire of human behavior.