Church Theft, Insecurity, and Community Justice: The Reality of Source-End Regulation of the Market for Illicit Bolivian Cultural Objects
Yates, D. (2014) ‘Church Theft, Insecurity, and Community Justice: The Reality of Source-End Regulation of the Market for Illicit Bolivian Cultural Objects’, European Journal on Criminal Policy Research, DOI 10.1007/s10610-014-9232-z
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.
Keywords Antiquities trafficking Bolivia Church theft Criminal markets Lynching
Paper available online via http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10610-014-9232-z
This paper forms part of a Special Issue on Trafficking in Cultural Objects. For more information, contact us.
