Deciphering bureaucrat-ese

0.5 hours writing, 4.5 hours reading / researching, 1 hour emailing / administrivia

I'm going to Chicago at the end of the month for the American Political Science Association conference, so I was taking a look at panels and figuring out with whom I'd like to meet while I'm there to get feedback on my project.

I began looking into the ministerial reports from the Ministry of the Interior to see what kinds of information about the police is available. Some of the early documents I was examining were from 1911 and 1912, and it took me back to doing fieldwork: the yellowed, crinkly pages that haven't been opened in years, if ever, the fine dust, the astringent smell of...old. And yet the voices of the individual ministers come across clearly, as they complain about being chronically underfunded and puff up the most minor accomplishments. Bureaucrat-ese is its own language to be deciphered. I'm most excited when there's data available. For example, in 1946, around the start of La Violencia, the president appointed military or police mayors in 202 towns in the run-up to the presidential elections; almost a quarter of them were in the state of Boyaca. Hmm. That fits with other sources I've read, but now I'm curious about these figures as an indicator of conflictiveness even before La Violencia got started. It's those kinds of things you enjoy coming across: like town-by-town electoral results for 1947 legislative elections. The funny thing about the Interior Ministry - which is very different from the Department of the Interior in the U.S.!! - is that it's such a catch-all ministry, covering everything from elections to the postal service to prisons. Anyway, there are sources from some of the key years for my story that are worth investigating in detail.

In terms of reading, I started on an insider's account of the military government of Rojas Pinilla (1953-57) that focuses on the role of the security forces in that government and its impact on their institutional development. That's an important part of my story, and there aren't that many sources on it, so it's good to be able to delve into this first-hand account, however wildly biased.

So, it was a good week overall. I'm signing off a bit early, as I'm off to New Orleans tomorrow for Cathy's brother's bachelor party. Thanks to Jay Seawright for monitoring this week! Next up is Nicole Peterson, in Seattle. Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday!