Drug Trafficking, Violence, and the State in Mexico

"Headlines and television commentaries about Mexico becoming a failed state as a result of drug-related violence have become a dime a dozen. Terms such as 'criminal insurgency', 'narco-terrorism', and narco-insurgency are all used to describe the widespread killings."

But Phil Williams argues:

"[…] Mexico—which has a vibrant middle-class; a surprisingly robust economy; and a president willing to confront the drug trafficking organizations, root 4 out drug-related corruption, and reform key institutions and agencies such as the police and judiciary—is a long way from becoming a failed state. Mexico is a functioning and resilient state. It is nothing like Nigeria—which has long teetered on the brink of collapse but not toppled over—let alone Somalia. The problems in Mexico are extremely serious, but we do nothing to help by trotting out over-simplistic and inaccurate characterizations rather than attempting a serious diagnosis of the challenges Mexico faces."