Church Theft, Insecurity, and Community Justice: The Reality of Source-End Regulation of the Market for Illicit Bolivian Cultural Objects

Donna Yates*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

In 2012 two men were lynched in Bolivia, first because there is an illicit market for Bolivian cultural objects, and second because a small, poor community turned to desperate measures to protect themselves from that illicit market due to the failings of national and international regulation. This paper is a case study of the reality of source-end regulation of an international criminal market in a developing country. I will discuss what is known about thefts from Bolivian churches, the international market for items stolen from these churches, and how such thefts are meant to be prevented on-the ground. Following this, I will present lynching in Bolivia as the most severe community response to the issues created by local politics, ineffectual policing, unenforceable laws, and a history of oppressive racism. I will conclude with a discussion of what we can reasonably hope to accomplish with source-end regulation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)445-457
Number of pages13
JournalEuropean Journal on Criminal Policy and Research
Volume20
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Antiquities trafficking
  • Bolivia
  • Church theft
  • Criminal markets
  • Lynching

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