Over the past fifteen years in Mexico, more than 450,000 people have been murdered and 110,000 more have been disappeared. In Sovereignty and Extortion, Claudio Lomnitz examines the Mexican state in relation to this extreme violence, uncovering a reality that challenges the familiar narratives of “a war on drugs” or a “failed state.” Tracing how neoliberal reforms, free trade agreements, and a burgeoning drug economy have shaped Mexico’s sociopolitical landscape, Lomnitz shows that the current crisis does not represent a tear in the social fabric. Rather, it reveals a fundamental shift in the relationship between the state and the economy in which traditional systems of policing, governance, and the rule of law have eroded. Lomnitz finds that power is now concentrated in the presidency and enforced through militarization, which has left the state estranged from itself and incapable of administering justice or regaining control over violence. Through this critical examination, Lomnitz offers a new theory of the state, its forms of sovereignty, and its shifting relation to capital and militarization.

“Composing a historical, economic, political, and judicial panorama of the forms of violence in Mexico today, Claudio Lomnitz reformulates a theory of the state that takes on a special relevance. Contrary to the idea of loss of state sovereignty in the face of neoliberalism, Lomnitz shows how state sovereignty is reinforced through militarization and the concentration of power in the presidency.” - Verónica Gago, author of (Feminist International: How to Change Everything) “Offering an original and compelling interpretation of the present Mexican predicament in light of the history of the last three decades, Claudio Lomnitz takes commonsense explanations of the current moment-such as ‘torn social fabric’ and the slogan ‘The state did it!’-and explores their flaws and hidden sides. With this historically grounded and theoretically thought-provoking book, Lomnitz has traced the emergence of a new type of state.” - Sandro Mezzadra, coauthor of (The Politics of Operations: Excavating Contemporary Capitalism) "It is a good time for Lomnitz’s essays to be published-judicial reform is likely to become the defining feature of Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency and Morena’s plans are generating much hot air within the traditional enemy of Mexican sovereignty, the US. The anthropologist makes a sagacious and eloquent contribution to questions about whither this troubled country is heading-while providing evidence of the creative power of anthropology to contemplate contemporary sociopolitical issues." - Gavin O'Toole (Latin American Review of Books) "Lomnitz breaks new ground by providing intriguing conceptual approaches and thematic directions as he convincingly fills the content of his arguments with consistent and striking material to those interested in understanding Mexican politics and organized crime in the region in Sovereignty and Extortion with undebatable expertise. His contribution to the existing literature is appreciated." - Onur Agkaya (Latin American Politics and Society) "A remarkably provocative collection of essays that inverts lazy true-crime assumptions. Sovereignty and Extortion offers readers a new framework for understanding how cartels and states coexist. It should be required reading not only for all students of organized crime, but also for those interested in the future of the state, sovereignty and the rule of law." - Benjamin T. Smith (Times Literary Supplement)

Claudio Lomnitz is Campbell Family Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University and the author of several books, including Nuestra AmÉrica: My Family in the Vertigo of Translation, The Return of Comrade Ricardo Flores MagÓn, and Death and the Idea of Mexico.