Within the framework of the President Néstor Kirchner (PNK) Fellowship sponsored by the Observatory on Latin America (OLA) and the Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) in Argentina, Casandra Castorena Sanchez, from Mexico, successfully completed a two-week academic exchange at The New School in New York.

Casandra holds a BA in International Relations from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and is a Master’s candidate at UNAM. She is currently a Senior Program Office at the Mexico City Office at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Her research in citizen security focuses on the different types of violence prevalent in Latin America and the Caribbean. She argues for a new co-responsibility paradigm in the design of public policies that address the security needs of citizens.

Seminars with The New School Community

On March 1, 2018 Casandra presented her work during a closed-door Seminar to receive detailed feedback on her ongoing research, but also to introduce her topic from a new perspective. The seminar was attended by New School Professors Nidhi Srinivas, Alberto Minujin, Michael Cohen, and Margarita Gutman. They were joined by Masters and PhD students from the programs in Economics, Public and Urban Policies, and International Affairs.

During the seminar Casandra explained the various factors that constitute insecurity and the perception of insecurity in Mexico. She highlighted that the security policy paradigm requires the inclusion of active citizen participation and a human rights approach to design bottom-up interventions. She considers the citizen as an agent for change and promotes a co-responsibility scheme. Casandra also explained the complementary relationship between the traditional security framework and the citizenship security framework in order to demonstrate the need to include both.

Interviews and Visits in New York

Casandra spent most of her time meeting with experts in the fields of security, sociology, history, anthropology, and urban and public policy. She held individual meetings with New School Professors Nidhi Srinivas, Peter Hoffman, Jay Bernstein, Darrick Hamilton, Rachel Meltzer, Alexandra Delano, Mindy Fullilove, Margarita Gutman, and Michael Cohen.

She met with Professor Pablo Piccato from Columbia University, Luis Godoy and Esteban Andrade from ILAS Columbia, Professor Owsaldo Zavala from CUNY.

She also met with Kasia Malinowska and Diego Garcia Devis from the Open Society Foundation as well as with Cleia Noia and Renata Segura from the Social Science Research Council.

She held individual meetings with PhD student Christina Handal Gonzalez and former GPIA Master’s student Oscar Romero.

Public Lecture

The culmination of her visit was her presentation during the Public Lecture, New Citizenship Rights in Latin America, which took place on March 8, 2018 at The New School. She was introduced by Paulina Strassburger Lona, a special representative of the Mexican Consulate in New York. Mary Watson, Executive Dean of SPE at the New School moderated the discussion. For more information about the public lecture, the presentation and comments click here.

+ Watch the video of the Public Lecture

+ What is it like to be a President Néstor Kirchner Fellow?, by Casandra Castorena Sanchez

+ View/download Casandra Castorena Sanchez’s Working Paper (coming soon)

+ Slideshow Presentation by Casandra Castorena Sanchez (0.5MB)