Robert Muggah
muggah.bsky.social
Robert Muggah
@muggah.bsky.social

Co-founder of Igarapé Institute, SecDev, and Bioverse | Geopolitics, security, technology, cities and nature enthusiast | TED speaker | Lancet Commission | Bosch Academy | Author of Terra Incognita | SuperNature | robertmuggah.org .. more

Robert Muggah is a political scientist, urbanist, and security expert. He is the co-founder of the Igarapé Institute and the SecDev Group, where he is known for his work on urbanization, crime prevention, arms control, migration, cyber-security, the digital economy, conflict and development studies. He regularly advises national and city governments, management consulting and technology firms, United Nations agencies, and the World Bank.  .. more

Political science 49%
Sociology 27%

How organised crime took over areas of Rio de Janeiro, and why violent police raids won’t fix the problem. Short podcast with ⁦‪The Conversation.

@us.theconversation.com
@theconversation.com

theconversation.com/how-organise...
How organised crime took over areas of Rio de Janeiro – and why violent police raids won’t fix the problem
Robert Muggah, an expert in organised crime in Brazil, explains the origins of the Commando Vermehlo, the gang targeted in a deadly raid in Rio de Janeiro in late October.
theconversation.com

The world’s sliding into an age of managed disorder. #Ukraine’s where the new geometry comes into view. Its fight isn’t only for territory, but also which habits – coercion and carve-up or cooperation and constraint – defines the next chapter of world order.
washingtonspectator.org/the-great-re...
The Great Rewiring | Washington Spectator
The world is sliding into an age of managed disorder, and Ukraine is where the new geometry comes into view. What began as Russia’s bid to subdue a neighbor is now a stress test of the international…
washingtonspectator.org

Even as the White House pushes a counter-drugs/terrorism narrative, evidence points to a regime change. But military action could rally nationalist sentiment, fracture hemispheric consensus and drag the U.S. into a longer confrontation with regional spillovers.

theconversation.com/us-squeeze-o...
US squeeze on Venezuela won’t bring about rapid collapse of Maduro – in fact, it might boomerang on Washington
Covert ops and military buildup in the Caribbean suggest Washington is eying a regime change. But are conditions ripe in Venezuela?
theconversation.com

Reposted by Robert Muggah

Today is #WorldCitiesDay. Last month, @muggah.bsky.social and Carlo Ratti pointed out that cities have long served as crucibles for political and economic reform, and urged progressives to reclaim experimental urbanism as a platform for democratic renewal. bit.ly/3Wt5HJq
Authoritarians’ Brave New Cities
Robert Muggah & Carlo Ratti urge progressives to reclaim the mantle of experimental urbanism from the techno-libertarian right.
www.project-syndicate.org

A polícia precisa tratar o tráfico internacional de armas de fogo como um crime da cadeia de suprimentos, especialmente considerando a estimativa de que 90% dos fuzis usados ​​por facções criminosas.” ⁦‬⁩ ⁦

#Exame #IgarapeInstitute

exame.com/brasil/apos-...
Após operação mais letal da história, desafio é combater economia do crime
Para especialistas é preciso asfixiar o financiamento do crime. Só em ouro, combustíveis, tabaco e bebidas as organizações criminosas movimentam R$ 145 bilhões por ano, além de faturar R$ 335 bilhões ...
exame.com

“We’ve seen time and time again that heavy-handed approaches do not dismantle criminal networks,” said Robert Muggah, an expert on organized crime in Latin America and the research director of Igarapé Institute, a research group.“

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
Over 130 Killed in Bloody Crackdown on Drug Gangs in Rio de Janeiro
www.nytimes.com

O Rio de Janeiro revela-se uma cidade cada vez mais sitiada pelo crime organizado. Ao final da tarde, o estado já havia confirmado 64 mortos na Operação Contenção, no confronto mais sangrento em um único dia no Rio em décadas. #ConversationBR

theconversation.com/analise-o-cr...
Análise: O crime organizado se tornou o maior negócio do Brasil - e sua mais séria ameaça
A economia criminosa do Brasil deixou os becos para ocupar também salas de reuniões, constar de balanços patrimoniais e cadeias de suprimentos essenciais
theconversation.com

A #COP30 deve levar crimes ambientais ao centro, alinhar clima, justiça e segurança, e incluir métricas de Estado de Direito, transparência fundiária, anticorrupção e capacidade judicial nas #NDCs, nos planos de adaptação e nas revisões globais. #Exame #IgarapeInstitute
exame.com/esg/o-crime-...

World War III no longer feels unthinkable. Here’s why. Spoke to ⁦‪#USAtoday‬⁩ about what some of our forecasting at ⁦‪#SecDev‬⁩ are revealing.

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
'Clash that could expand.' Why global war no longer feels like remote prospect
Many Europeans and Americans no longer view a global war as a remote prospect and believe World War III could happen in the next five to ten years.
www.usatoday.com

Climate diplomacy has long treated #environmental #crimes such as illegal logging, gold mining and wildlife trafficking as a sideshow. #COP30 offers an opportunity to fix that. My latest with @financialtimes.com

www.ft.com/content/f544...
COP must take environmental crime seriously
The costs of inaction are stark, but prevention is a bargain
www.ft.com

“Freedom cities” championed by Silicon Valley’s techno-libertarian elite risk undermining democracy rather than shoring it up. Latest by Carlo Ratti and me in @sol24.bsky.social.

en.ilsole24ore.com/art/the-new-...
The New Metropolises of the Authoritarians
The 'freedom cities' championed by the Silicon Valley techno-libertarian elite and Donald Trump are enclaves of deregulated, digitally powered and centrally planned innovation. The challenge is not to...
en.ilsole24ore.com

O confronto entre EUA e Venezuela se aproxima. Ataques parecem plausíveis, mas Washington ainda pretende levar Caracas ao limite por meio de pressão, não de invasão. @theconversation.com

theconversation.com/eua-e-venezu...
EUA e Venezuela estão próximos de um conflito armado - mas preocupações domésticas e riscos internacionais podem impedir Washington de avançar
O aumento da presença militar dos EUA no Caribe levou o presidente venezuelano Nicolás Maduro a responder com exercícios militares
theconversation.com

US-Venezuela showdown looms. Strikes seem plausible, but Washington still aims to push Caracas over the edge through pressure, not invasion. Latest from @us.theconversation.com.

theconversation.com/venezuela-an...
Venezuela and US edge toward war footing − but domestic concerns, international risks may hold Washington back
US military buildup in the Caribbean has prompted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to reciprocate with military drills.
theconversation.com

A guerra ampliada dos EUA contra as drogas pode projetar poder, mas é
improvável que afete o mercado. Os aliados se afastarão se virem coerção em
vez de parceria. #Estadao

www.estadao.com.br/amp/internac...
Trump usa guerra contra as drogas para interesses geopolíticos. Vai funcionar?
Embora o fentanil proveniente da China parecesse ser o principal foco do presidente durante sua campanha, o alvo mais tradicional da cocaína sul-americana tornou-se mais proeminente recentemente
www.estadao.com.br

Global conflict is surging but the institutions set up to curb them are fracturing. Perceptions diverge on what comes next. The West fears the end of the rules-based order; Asia treat multipolarity as opportunity; many in the “Global South” are hedging. #WEF

www.weforum.org/stories/2025...
We must rethink conflict and peacebuilding in a fractured world
Conflict is rising as aid shrinks. How can peacebuilding adapt through localization, innovation and new global coalitions in this new fractured world?
www.weforum.org

Decertifications, terror labels, and episodic strikes risk alienating the partners Washington needs. My latest with #AmericasQuarterly.

americasquarterly.org/article/geop...
The Geopolitics of Trump’s War on Drugs
Decertifications, terror labels, and episodic strikes risk alienating the partners Washington needs.
americasquarterly.org

Freedom cities are coming. But instead of ceding the idea to techno-authoritarians, progressives need to reclaim cities as platforms for democratic experimentation - from participatory assemblies and cooperative housing to climate-resilient design. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/f...

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was convicted by a Supreme Court majority of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election, the first former president in the country's history to be convicted for attacking democracy.

www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Brazil's Bolsonaro convicted for criminal organization, court majority decides
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was convicted by a Supreme Court majority on Thursday of being part of a criminal organization, a powerful blow to the far-right leader in his trial over an alleged coup plot.
www.reuters.com

Can improvements in #deforestation detection improve safety? A new study from #arxiv finds that #Brazil's #DETER prevented on average +/- 1,477 homicides per year, a 15% reduction. Fascinating co benefits. (By Rafael Araujo, Vitor Possebom, and Gabriela Setti)

arxiv.org/html/2509.06...
DETERring more than Deforestation: Environmental Enforcement Reduces Violence in the AmazonWe would like to thank Lucas Belleza, Lucas Finamor, and Livia Haddad for helpful suggestions. We also thank ...
arxiv.org

O que foi anunciado como estratégia de combate ao #narcotráfico se assemelha mais a um modelo de diplomacia coerciva na #Venezuela e na região. #igarape #estadao

www.estadao.com.br/internaciona...
EUA usam combate ao narcotráfico para pressionar regime de Maduro e mostrar força na América Latina
Envio de militares e navios para águas próximas a Venezuela resgata invasão ao Panamá e intervenções do século 20; mudanças globais e regionais dificultam influência americana
www.estadao.com.br

#Brazil is confronting one of the most audacious #criminal infiltration schemes in its history. I told #Bloomberg that factions like the #PCC have fully infiltrated the legal economy and supply chains and are eroding trust in the financial system

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Drug Gang Sells Brazil Gas in Sophisticated Bid to Wash Profits
A sting operation is targeting criminal networks spanning service stations, asset managers and fintech platforms used to mask close to $10 billion in illicit profits.
www.bloomberg.com

With the world #arming itself to the teeth, it’s critical to expose the vast health implications. In a new #BMJ series, we argue that the #arms industry, like #tobacco, #alcohol, and #fossil fuels should be regarded as a commercial determinant of health.

www.bmj.com/content/390/...
Weapons, wealth, and health: the arms industry as a commercial determinant of health
As governments worldwide increase defence spending and arms company revenues climb, we urgently need to examine how the arms industry (and not just its products) influences health, argue Mark Bellis a...
www.bmj.com

The #STF also issued content takedown orders (and suspended Telegram) and expanded fact-checking hubs and digital literacy campaigns to counter conspiracy theories and restored public trust. By mid-2025, the STF secured 643 convictions for involvement in the riots. (5/5)

The January 8, 2023 attacks on the presidential palace, Congress, and the #STF triggered even stronger action. The STF and #TSE froze assets, classified insurrectionists as terrorists, and enforced preventive arrests to curb extremist networks. (4/5)

By 2022, the #TSE and Supreme Court (#STF) expanded their authority, enabling real-time removal of harmful content on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Telegram. Authorities built communication channels with tech firms to flag disinformation and block extremist accounts. (3/5)

A focus of the #TSE and Supreme Court (#STF) since 2019 has been on those targeting electronic voting systems. Counter measures not only patched vulnerabilities in Brazil’s #democratic defenses, they also laid the foundations for more ambitious efforts to safeguard the 2022 elections. (2/5)

At a time of #democratic rollback, look to countries like #Brazil for insight. Brazil’s defense of #democracy has evolved since Bolsonaro’s election in 2018. In 2019, the electoral court (#TSE) stood-up its first #disinformation program and a network of fact-checkers to debunk conspiracies. (1/6)