Venezuela Conflict and Peacebuilding Research Network

The VCP Research Network is led by Yoletty Bracho (University of Avignon, France), Rebecca Hanson (University of Florida), David Smilde (Tulane University) and Verónica Zubillaga (REACIN – University of Illinois, Chicago). It brings together people working on conflict, violence, and peacebuilding in Venezuela during the period of Chavismo.

Our first CIPR supported project starting in 2015 focused on criminal violence in Venezuela and understanding its dramatic increase despite decreases in poverty and inequality— factors often used to explain violence. In our book The Paradox of Violence in Venezuela (Pittsburgh 2022) we developed a multidimensional explanation that sees violence as a complex outcome arising from intra-state struggles and fragmentation, concentrated disadvantage, as well as destabilized criminal markets and the multiplication of armed actors.

This first project led in several directions. In the process of writing and editing our book the character of violence changed. Police violence increased dramatically after 2015 and became part of the political conflict, as well as a central issue in the International Criminal Court case against Venezuela. In 2021 (Notre Dame University) and 2022 (Caracas) we held two conferences on violence and transitional justice. In 2023 (Lyon, France) and 2024 (Bogotá, Colombia) we held conferences on violence and peacebuilding in Venezuela and Colombia. These experiences led to the book Busqueda de Justicia en Venezuela (Caracas: REACIN- Amnesty International-CIPR).

A second direction deriving from our project on violence was the concept of “revolutionary governance,” which we argued was key to explaining conflict; state transformation; policing and justice in Venezuela.  We are currently working on a project called “Revolutionary Governance and Contestation in Venezuela” that builds upon recent developments in scholarship on revolutions, and aims to provide a new, broader discussion for understanding the past quarter century of Chavismo in Venezuela. With support from CIPR and the Stone Center for Latin American Studies we are organizing a conference by that name at Tulane University in October 2025.

The VCP Research Network also aims at public engagement in Venezuela and abroad. As we have developed our research projects, we have engaged in media work, advocacy and community engagement to share our reflections beyond academia and contribute to transforming the conflict in Venezuela. Our work has appeared in outlets such as Prodavinci (Venezuela); La Silla Vacia (Colombia), Le Grand Continent (France); El País (Spain); New York Times (US); Foreign Policy (US), The Conversation (US).