Abstract

A study of the implications of the coproduction-of-security policy implemented by Chile’s postdictatorship governments shows that the appeal for citizen participation in security provision has resulted in individual practices of home defense and protection rather than the development of the associative programs promoted by the state. This has come about in a context of extreme fear of crime and mistrust of the institutions in charge of security. The fact that the discourse of security coproduction is interwoven with the individuation and privatization that characterize Chilean society calls for a review of the agenda of citizen participation in security issues.