Democracy Paradox
Democracy Paradox
Justin Kempf
Guillermo Trejo on Accountability, Impunity, and the Fate of New Democracies
57 minutes Posted May 27, 2026 at 6:00 am.
Introduction
What Is the State?
From Order to Crime
The Accountability Shock
Beyond Elections
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57:57
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Show notes
What happens when the violent state forged under autocracy survives into democracy? Guillermo Trejo In this episode of The Democracy Paradox, Kellogg faculty fellow Guillermo Trejo discusses his new book, Accountability Shock, coauthored with Lucía Tiscornia and Juan Albarracín. Trejo explains how authoritarian security forces can survive democratic transitions and fuel organized crime, and why truth commissions, prosecutions, and institutional reforms are essential tools for preventing viole...