What was the significance of political violence in 19th-Century Latin America?

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Riekenberg
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2012 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 211798871

This research focuses on the meanings and regimes of political violence Hispanic Americas in the nineteenth century. It is assumed that at the time the ruling regimen of power/violence was a precarious one, i.e. it was contended and ambiguous. Considering this polysemy, and by comparing Mexico and Argentina, the project aims at elucidating what soldiers and militiamen, who represented ideally the so-called armed citizenship, understood as political violence. Empirically, the analysis is based mainly on preliminary proceedings opened against soldiers and militiamen during the eighteen-twenties, since this period represented the culmination of transition from the Ancien Régime to the republican, national order. Furthermore, this project endeavors to contribute to the debate on the constitution and development of political orders and spaces in republican Latin America.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants