{"id":{"repo_id":"texas","oai_identifier":"oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/135428"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/texas/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/135428","repository":{"repo_id":"texas","name":"University of Texas","base_url":"https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Making a market for security : private security entrepreneurship in Mexico City","abstract":"Private Security is one of the fastest-growing industries around the world. In the Global South, private security has become an integral part of life in the city. In Mexico City, private security has situated itself as a prerequisite of residential, commercial, and industrial activity. But how has private security positioned itself as an elementary element of urban life? Most approaches see the emergence of security in Latin America as the result of increased urban insecurity on the continent, or the introduction of structural changes in security provision. By contrast, by employing ethnographic methods in the booming security sector of Mexico City, this dissertation highlights the significant role played by entrepreneurial actors in shaping the security market and continuously expanding its scope. Security entrepreneurs have not only forged a security market, but introduced new methods of risk assessment, security protocols, and aesthetic images that imbue more dimensions of life in the city with their logic. My research follows the development of the Mexican private security market, the contemporary production of security, and the dynamics shaping the field. Furthermore, although often framed as an alternative to the incapacity of the state to eradicate urban insecurity, this dissertation shows that security entrepreneurs have a complex relationship with the state, which on the one hand, laid the social groundwork for the security market, but is simultaneously an ally and a rival of the entrepreneurs. I argue that rather than being a mere outcome of Mexico's evolving security governance, security entrepreneurs have found a dynamic and contested social arena, shaped by skilled actors who challenge the state and compete with one another over legitimate security expertise. Through their work, security entrepreneurs have created a new social model of private security provision in Mexico, defining and contesting new meanings of security expertise, and altering the social relations needed for security production. By positioning themselves as the new security experts of the city, entrepreneurs in Mexico epitomize the spirit behind one of the largest and most profitable industries around the world.","abstract_html":"Private Security is one of the fastest-growing industries around the world. In the Global South, private security has become an integral part of life in the city. In Mexico City, private security has situated itself as a prerequisite of residential, commercial, and industrial activity. But how has private security positioned itself as an elementary element of urban life? Most approaches see the emergence of security in Latin America as the result of increased urban insecurity on the continent, or the introduction of structural changes in security provision. By contrast, by employing ethnographic methods in the booming security sector of Mexico City, this dissertation highlights the significant role played by entrepreneurial actors in shaping the security market and continuously expanding its scope. Security entrepreneurs have not only forged a security market, but introduced new methods of risk assessment, security protocols, and aesthetic images that imbue more dimensions of life in the city with their logic. My research follows the development of the Mexican private security market, the contemporary production of security, and the dynamics shaping the field. Furthermore, although often framed as an alternative to the incapacity of the state to eradicate urban insecurity, this dissertation shows that security entrepreneurs have a complex relationship with the state, which on the one hand, laid the social groundwork for the security market, but is simultaneously an ally and a rival of the entrepreneurs. I argue that rather than being a mere outcome of Mexico's evolving security governance, security entrepreneurs have found a dynamic and contested social arena, shaped by skilled actors who challenge the state and compete with one another over legitimate security expertise. Through their work, security entrepreneurs have created a new social model of private security provision in Mexico, defining and contesting new meanings of security expertise, and altering the social relations needed for security production. By positioning themselves as the new security experts of the city, entrepreneurs in Mexico epitomize the spirit behind one of the largest and most profitable industries around the world.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Levy, Eldad J."],"institution":"The University of Texas at Austin","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Auyero, Javier"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Ward, Peter","Davis, Diane E","Fridman, Daniel","Brayne, Sarah"],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-08","date_published":"2023-08","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:01:08Z","subjects":["Private security","Mexico"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/62748"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/62748","href":"https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/62748","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2152/135428","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Auyero, Javier"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Ward, Peter","Davis, Diane E","Fridman, Daniel","Brayne, Sarah"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Levy, Eldad J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-02-10T02:33:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The University of Texas at Austin"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Private security","Mexico"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2152/135428","https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/62748"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Private Security is one of the fastest-growing industries around the world. In the Global South, private security has become an integral part of life in the city. In Mexico City, private security has situated itself as a prerequisite of residential, commercial, and industrial activity. But how has private security positioned itself as an elementary element of urban life? Most approaches see the emergence of security in Latin America as the result of increased urban insecurity on the continent, or the introduction of structural changes in security provision. By contrast, by employing ethnographic methods in the booming security sector of Mexico City, this dissertation highlights the significant role played by entrepreneurial actors in shaping the security market and continuously expanding its scope. Security entrepreneurs have not only forged a security market, but introduced new methods of risk assessment, security protocols, and aesthetic images that imbue more dimensions of life in the city with their logic. My research follows the development of the Mexican private security market, the contemporary production of security, and the dynamics shaping the field. Furthermore, although often framed as an alternative to the incapacity of the state to eradicate urban insecurity, this dissertation shows that security entrepreneurs have a complex relationship with the state, which on the one hand, laid the social groundwork for the security market, but is simultaneously an ally and a rival of the entrepreneurs. I argue that rather than being a mere outcome of Mexico's evolving security governance, security entrepreneurs have found a dynamic and contested social arena, shaped by skilled actors who challenge the state and compete with one another over legitimate security expertise. Through their work, security entrepreneurs have created a new social model of private security provision in Mexico, defining and contesting new meanings of security expertise, and altering the social relations needed for security production. By positioning themselves as the new security experts of the city, entrepreneurs in Mexico epitomize the spirit behind one of the largest and most profitable industries around the world."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Making a market for security : private security entrepreneurship in Mexico City"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Auyero, Javier"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Ward, Peter","Davis, Diane E","Fridman, Daniel","Brayne, Sarah"],"dc:creator":["Levy, Eldad J."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-02-10T02:33:21Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2023-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["Private Security is one of the fastest-growing industries around the world. In the Global South, private security has become an integral part of life in the city. In Mexico City, private security has situated itself as a prerequisite of residential, commercial, and industrial activity. But how has private security positioned itself as an elementary element of urban life? Most approaches see the emergence of security in Latin America as the result of increased urban insecurity on the continent, or the introduction of structural changes in security provision. By contrast, by employing ethnographic methods in the booming security sector of Mexico City, this dissertation highlights the significant role played by entrepreneurial actors in shaping the security market and continuously expanding its scope. Security entrepreneurs have not only forged a security market, but introduced new methods of risk assessment, security protocols, and aesthetic images that imbue more dimensions of life in the city with their logic. My research follows the development of the Mexican private security market, the contemporary production of security, and the dynamics shaping the field. Furthermore, although often framed as an alternative to the incapacity of the state to eradicate urban insecurity, this dissertation shows that security entrepreneurs have a complex relationship with the state, which on the one hand, laid the social groundwork for the security market, but is simultaneously an ally and a rival of the entrepreneurs. I argue that rather than being a mere outcome of Mexico's evolving security governance, security entrepreneurs have found a dynamic and contested social arena, shaped by skilled actors who challenge the state and compete with one another over legitimate security expertise. Through their work, security entrepreneurs have created a new social model of private security provision in Mexico, defining and contesting new meanings of security expertise, and altering the social relations needed for security production. 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