Krystin Krause, Ph.D.

kkrause@ehc.edu


Assistant Professor

Emory & Henry College

Year of PhD: 2013

City: Emory, Virginia

Country: United States

Research Interests

Latin American And Caribbean Politics

Political Violence

Comparative Democratization

Crime Politics

Organized Crime

Countries of Interest

Guatemala

El Salvador

Publications:

Journal Articles:

(2020) Authoritarianism, Social Dominance, and Contesting Human Rights in Latin America, Latin American Research Review

This article examines support for the restriction of human rights in Latin America, arguing that rising crime rates and personal experience with crime are only part of the story. Despite an emphasis on the protection of human rights in the aftermath of military regimes and civil war in Latin America, some citizens contest the defense of these rights across the region. Arguing that protecting human rights only keeps criminals out of jail, these citizens support policies and crime control measures that violate the rights of criminal suspects and other marginalized groups. Using public opinion data, this article demonstrates a relationship between individuals’ worldviews and their attitudes toward the human rights abuses committed against criminal suspects.

(2014) Supporting the Iron Fist: Crime News, Public Opinion, and Authoritarian Crime Control in Guatemala, Latin American Politics and Society

Authoritarian responses to rising violent crime rates have become a serious problem in Central America. Inspired by theories of agenda setting and media framing, this article examines the influence of news media coverage of crime on attitudes toward crime control. Using an original survey experiment, it tests the relationship between crime news, fear of crime, trust in government institutions, and support for authoritarian crime control measures in Guatemala. It finds that crime news influences support for authoritarian crime control via its effect on lowering citizen trust in government institutions. Exposure to crime news also affects self-reported victimization rates and levels of support for a presidential candidate promoting iron fist policies. These findings not only give insight into the relationship between crime news and political attitudes but also have implications for the rule of law and the politics of crime in new or fragile democracies.