Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha

Research Fellow

Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha

  • Short CV

    • January/2021 - current: Doctoral Researcher at the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies and PhD Candidate at the Universität Hamburg in the LFF Programme “Democratising security in turbulent times”.

    • September/2023 - current: Research assistant at the Research Network "Security in Context".
    • From 2021 – Jul 2023: Junior Researcher in the project “Global Cars: a transnational urban research on vehicle informal economies” - Europe, Africa and South America - based at Paris 1 University and CEBRAP (Brazil). Funded by ANR France/FAPESP.
    • 2018 - 2020: Master's student with a thesis developed at the Graduate Program at the University of São Carlos and at the Danish Institute for International Studies

    • 2015 - 2019: Junior Researcher in two projects: “In the Margins of the City” and “The regulation of (i) legal markets in São Paulo: mechanisms of reproduction of inequality and violence” both supervised by Prof. Gabriel de Santis Feltran

    • 2016 - 2018: Coordination assistant at the Center of Human Rights São Carlos at the project "Tackling Violence in Latin America" with British Council, CEBRAP and others Centers of Human Rights

    • Education: M.A. in Urban Sociology/Anthropology (sandwich scholarship), Danish Institute for International Studies; M.A. Urban Sociology, Federal University of São Carlos; B.A. Social Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos

    Current Research

    • Justice

    • Security

    • Community-building

    Countries and Regions

    • Latin America

    • Brazil

    Research Programmes


    Dissertation

    • Signal City

    Awards

    • IJURR Writing Up Grant, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research Foundation (IJURR Foundation), 2024

    Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha

    Research Fellow

    [email protected]


    EU-LAC Policy Brief | 09/2025

    Drogas, Puertos y Otros Desafíos: La Necesidad de una Estrategia Multinivel Integral y Coordinada

    The GIGA and the EULAC Foundation co-organised, with the support of the City of Hamburg, the two-day workshop ‘Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking’ in early April 2025. This policy brief present the core themes and insights emerging from the workshop, highlighting key takeaways.

    EU-LAC Policy Brief | 09/2025

    Drugs, Ports and Other Challenges: In Need of a Comprehensive and Coordinated Multilevel Strategy

    The GIGA and the EULAC Foundation co-organised, with the support of the City of Hamburg, the two-day workshop ‘Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking’ in early April 2025. This policy brief present the core themes and insights emerging from the workshop, highlighting key takeaways.

    GIGA Focus Latin America | 2/2025

    Latin America: Germany’s Indispensable Partner

    Trump’s disruptive policies could inadvertently provide the impetus to bring Europe and Latin America closer together. With smart policies, the incoming German government can leverage shared interests for a renewed partnership.

    Legal Pluralism and Critical Social Analysis | 02/2024

    The Law of God, the Law of the State and the Law of Crime: an Anthropological Account of the Consolidation of Multiple Normative Regimes in Brazilian Urban Margins

    Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Brazilian urban peripheries, this article proposes a theoretical reflection on normative multiplicities and their relations to the dynamics of violence in contexts of sharp conflict.

    TV Cultura | Interview | 28/08/2025

    Mega Operations against Organised Crime

    In this interview, Janaina Maldonado comments on the financial structure of the Brazilian criminal group PCC and the recent Brazilian police mega-operations against the group, which uncovered the group's activities in the Brazilian financial and stock markets.

    ZDF | Interview | 18/06/2025

    "Narco-Subs": Wenn U-Boote Drogen schmuggeln

    Janaina Maldonado was interviewed by ZDF about the transnational drug trafficking routes connecting Europe and Latin America.

    Insight Crime | Quote | 11/06/2024

    Chop Shops Make a Comeback in São Paulo

    Vehicle theft is back on the rise in São Paulo following years of decline, as criminal groups exploit supply chain issues to revive a withering black market.

    Research | 05/11/2025

    Desafíos de las Drogas y el Crimen Organizado: Estrategias Integrales y Responsabilidades Compartidas

    As a side-event to the 2025 EU-CELAC summit in Colombia, this event brings together European and Latin American academics and stakeholders to discuss the challenges of drug policy and organised crime, which affect both continents.

    Cooperation Event | 07/04/2025 - 08/04/2025

    Experts Workshop Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking

    Experts Workshop Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking, Hamburg International Maritime Museum, Hamburg Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), EU-LAC Foundation Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach (Organiser), Julia Kramer (Organiser), Dr. Jonas von Hoffmann (Organiser), Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha (Organiser), PD Dr. Dr. Ariel Macaspac Hernandez (Organiser), Eduardo Valencia (Organiser)

    Experts from diverse fields gather to explore the challenges of illicit drug trafficking from Latin America to Europe and beyond. Focusing on ports as key hubs, they examine underlying dynamics and emerging trends, available data and common misconceptions, community impacts and civil society’s role.

    Workshop | 25/11/2024 - 27/11/2024

    Sin Miedo: Autonomous Securities Across the Global South

    Sin Miedo: Autonomous Securities Across the Global South, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City Organisers: Security in Context Network Janaina Maldonado Guerra da Cunha (Organiser)

    This workshop aimed to bring together leading scholars and practitioners to engage in a dynamic exchange of ideas, experiences, and research on practices that respond creatively to the precarisation of life, and that challenge traditional paradigms of security. Our goal is to foster a collaborative environment where alter-securities across the Global South can be discussed and strengthened.

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