The Shifting Boundaries of State and Society in Latin America

Where is the boundary between "society" and "the state"?How can we understand this boundary in Latin America, where many workers perform tasks outside of official regulations?How can we understand this boundary when the expansion of certain illegal markets creates mixed constellations and hybrid social spaces where state representatives act as criminals and criminals attempt to establish order?These broad questions are not new.Their value lies not so much in discovering uncharted territory as in encouraging reflection on how these boundaries are reconfigured at each historical moment.This essay reviews five books that make significant contributions to this discussion.