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191. Un Laboratorio de Guerra en Antioquia: Desmitificando la Victoria Paramilitar y la Desaparición de las Guerrillas

Author:
Jerónimo Ríos
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
Uno de los aspectos menos investigados sobre el conflicto armado colombiano es la coincidencia espacio-temporal de guerrillas y grupos paramilitares. Es decir, cómo afectó a los niveles de presencia y activismo guerrillero la aparición de un actor como el paramilitarismo. Al respecto, la consideración tan predominante como, en pocas ocasiones, poco contrastada, pasa por atribuir una derrota a las guerrillas allí donde el paramilitarismo obtuvo un mayor arraigo. Tomando como estudio de caso el departamento de Antioquia, tradicionalmente, un escenario de gran presencia tanto guerrillera como paramilitar, se busca analizar la afectación de este último a las dinámicas de la violencia y obtener así una aproximación más sólida a una de las aristas más intrincadas del conflicto armado y que requiere de trabajos de mayor profundidad e investigación.
Topic:
Violence, Armed Conflict, Paramilitary, and FARC
Political Geography:
Colombia and South America

192. Trilogía para ser y caminar: memoria, verdad e historia en la Comisión de Esclarecimiento​​de la Verdad en Colombia. Posibilidades y retos

Author:
Diana Gómez Correal
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
El presente documento tiene la intención de identificar las posibilidades que abre la CEV en Colombia, así como los retos que enfrenta. El texto se estructura en tres partes. La primera hace una descripción general de la Comisión, propuesta en el acuerdo de La Habana y reglamentada por el Decreto 588 de 2017; la segunda identifica algunas potencialidades y retos que encara la CEV; y la tercera presenta una aproximación a la memoria y la historia que permite hacer real la noción transformadora que se le asigna a estas y a las comisiones de la verdad(5).
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Memory, Economic Development, Reconciliation, and Truth
Political Geography:
Colombia

193. Los retos de "La paz territorial"

Author:
Gonzalo Vargas and Raf​ael Hurtado de Mendoza
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
Uno de los conceptos centrales de la plataforma política de Juan Manuel Santos para lograr la reelección y continuar la negociación con las Farc fue el de “paz territorial”. Según el Alto Comisionado de Paz, Sergio Jaramillo, la paz territorial conducirá al fortalecimiento del Estado de Derecho y de los derechos constitucionales de los colombianos en todo el territorio y este resultado se conseguirá gracias a una “alianza en la que los programas gubernamentales, las autoridades regionales—en esto el liderazgo de alcaldes y gobernadores será fundamental—y las comunidades se unen para combinar la coordinación y los recursos nacionales con la fuerza y el conocimiento de la ejecución local” (Jaramillo 2013).
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Regional Cooperation, Law Enforcement, Reform, Rule of Law, Peace, and FARC
Political Geography:
Colombia

194. A balancing act: Drug policy in Colombia after UNGASS 2016

Author:
Luis Felipe Cruz and Isabel Pereira
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Dejusticia
Abstract:
This document is the result of a project developed by Dejusticia in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Law of Colombia and the British Embassy in Colombia, with funds from the United Kingdom through its embassy in Colombia. During 2016, two historic events were held to reflect about drug strategies in Colombia: the United Nations Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS 2016) and the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Government and the FARC-EP, which includes the agreement on the “Solution to the problem of illicit drugs”. In light of the commitments made by the Colombian State, there are challenges and possibilities for drug policy reform, particularly when hoping to achieve a better balance between a criminalization perspective and the recognition and guarantee of rights to populations affected by prohibition’s harmful effects.
Topic:
Human Rights, War on Drugs, Criminal Justice, Public Policy, Drugs, and Public Health
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Colombia, and Latin America

195. Towards an inclusive peace: women and the gender approach in the Colombian peace process

Author:
Dag Nylander and Hilde Salvesen
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The peace process between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP guerrilla has provided a unique opportunity not only to reunite a society torn apart by conflict, but also to build a more just peace that responds to the needs and rights of both men and women. The establishment of the Sub-commission on Gender as part of the formal peace architecture has turned out to be an effective instrument for gender inclusion in the peace process. The peace agreement signed in September 2016 was by far the most inclusive peace agreement in history. When a narrow majority rejected it in a plebiscite the following October many feared that gender would be sacrificed to accommodate those who voted no. However, in the renegotiated peace agreement that was ratified by Congress and entered into force in December the gender focus is not weakened. Rather, the language is clarified and has become more precise. Experiences from Colombia offer valuable insights for other peace processes on opportunities for and challenges affecting inclusion.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Gender Issues, Women, and Peace
Political Geography:
Colombia and South America

196. The United States and Colombia: A Special Relationship

Author:
Juan Carlos Pinzon
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
The world has changed for Colombia. For the first time in more than 50 years, we are a nation building a lasting and stable peace. What has not changed is the special relationship Colombia shares with the United States. As the oldest and strongest democracies in the Western Hemisphere, the relationship between our two countries is deeply rooted in our steadfast commitment to the shared values of democracy, freedom and equality. It is an alliance built on a solid foundation of bipartisan support, and that too will not change. Successive Colombian governments have worked with Republican-led con­gresses and those controlled by Democrats, and we look forward to continuing to engage with the new Administration and Congress as we work to build sustainable peace. It was strong bipartisan support that made Plan Colombia the most successful U.S. bilateral initiative with a foreign nation—benefitting both countries and the entire region— and it is bipartisan support that will make the next phase of Plan Colombia—the Peace Colombia initiative—successful as well.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Democracy, Political stability, and Peace
Political Geography:
United States, Colombia, South America, and North America

197. Colombia Mid-2017

Author:
John F. Maisto
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
The Colombian peace process—and within it, all issues that have to do with the demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and its entrance into Colombian political life—is an issue that still divides Colombians and will continue to do so into next year’s election season. The end of hostilities and the peace agreement of 2016 have brought a welcome end to the killing and violence that have plagued Colombia for half a century. The 6,700 to 7,000 FARC members (out of a Colombian population of 49 million) have completed move­ment out of the areas where they fought in rural Colombia, and FARC arms have been turned over to the United Nations—though whether they are all or even most of the FARC arms is still a matter of debate. The execution of the peace process is slow-going, and it has faced roadblocks. The attempt by Juan Manual Santos’ government to “fast track” legislation covering the component parts of the agreement as a package to be voted up or down was rejected by the Colombian Supreme Court in May. President Santos’ response was that the process would have to go forward “brick by brick,” and that is what is now going on. Forward movement also has been hampered by the huge increase in coca produc­tion since 2015. This is due to the government’s agreement to end chemical spraying of coca fields, instead substituting and promoting manual eradication. This has created negative reaction from Washington and generated new efforts in Colombia, this time under the new Vice President, former General Oscar Naranjo. Naranjo, a respected veteran from the Colombian Defense establishment, candidly and publicly has identified the problem as being a policy focused solely on interdiction and eradication without addressing the structural problems causing Colombian farmers to replant coca. Such policy re-tooling is underway. Failure to achieve success in these measures can only have an adverse effect on the gains made under Plan Colombia (and the $10 billion investment of US assistance since 2000). Such failure would embolden organized criminal groups, and huge inflows of illicit earnings would erode citizen security, increase corruption, foment increased illegal immi­gration and destabilize neighbor states. At risk are the legacy and legitimacy of the peace accord.
Topic:
Military Affairs, Elections, Democracy, and Peace
Political Geography:
Colombia and South America

198. Institutions vs. Social Interactions in Driving Economic Convergence: Evidence from Colombia

Author:
Michele Coscia, Timothy Cheston, and Ricardo Hausmann
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Are regions poor because they have bad institutions or are they poor because they are disconnected from the social channels through which technology diffuses? This paper tests institutional and technological theories of economic convergence by looking at income convergence across Colombian municipalities. We use formal employment and wage data to estimate growth of income per capita at the municipal level. In Colombia, municipalities are organized into 32 departamentos or states. We use cellphone metadata to cluster municipalities into 32 communication clusters, defined as a set of municipalities that are densely connected through phone calls. We show that these two forms of grouping municipalities are very different. We study the effect on municipal income growth of the characteristics of both the state and the communication cluster to which the municipality belongs. We find that belonging to a richer communication cluster accelerates convergence, while belonging to a richer state does not. This result is robust to controlling for state fixed effects when studying the impact of communication clusters and vice versa. The results point to the importance of social interactions rather than formal institutions in the growth process.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Science and Technology, Economic Growth, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Colombia and South America

199. Green growth and energy security Fossil-endowed middle-income countries at a crossroads

Author:
Louise Schaik Van and Louise Van Schaik
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:
This policy brief synthesises the findings of political economy analyses (PEA) in the energy sector in three fossil-endowed middle-income countries (MICs): Colombia, Indonesia and Kenya. It is based on a research project on political economy constraints and enablers influencing governments’ decisions on green growth options in the energy sector, where policy directions for a robust green growth trajectory are explored.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Environment, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Kenya, Indonesia, and Colombia

200. DECOLONIZATION IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM: INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND LEGAL PLURALISM, A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN BOLIVIA, COLOMBIA, AND ECUADOR

Author:
Sergio Miranda Hayes
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
In the academic world, scientific literature comes mainly from the western part of the globe. Ramón Grossfoguel believes that knowledge is determined by power relations in the "post-colonial" era (Grossfoguel, 2002: 16). This means that Western powers dominate the academic world. In constitutional law, this is not the exception. However, while we can accept that it is true that many constitutional provisions, doctrine, jurisprudence and theories of Western constitutional law have influenced Latin American countries, most of these countries have also developed their own constitutional systems that have specific and new features, whose unique identity differentiates them from other systems in the world. In this paper, I will try to study the special features that Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia have in the recognition of indigenous rights and legal pluralism, whose discursive axis entails a “decolonizing” spirit which is the retrieval of their own institutions against the trends of hegemonic governance of the western culture as I will explain later. Latin America has faced numerous problems concerning social differentiation. In the opinion of one of the most cited authors in Latin American constitutional law, Raquel Yrigoyen, the disadvantaged were left behind from the social, economic and political issues through legal measures created by people of a favored minority, in order to maintain privileges (Yrigoyen, 2011: 139). In the case of Latin America, many of the disadvantaged match to be those survivors of the brutal Spanish conquest; the native Indians. I have chosen these three countries since they have a significant indigenous population; more than 36.6 million indigenous people in the region. In Bolivia, the number rises to 4,115,222 natives, in Ecuador 1018176,and in Colombia 1392623. (World Bank, 2014: 24-25) The Constitutions of Colombia (1991), Ecuador (2008) and Bolivia (2009) reflect the new “decolonizing” ideology; Colombia through its jurisprudence, on the one hand, and Bolivia and Ecuador, proclaiming themselves "Plurinational”countries on the other. All made great strides in recognizing indigenous rights and, consequently, in gaining their social inclusion. (Gargarella, 2014: 175) Constitutional systems are a product of history and the struggle of peoples. In these cases, the effort to include indigenous peoples in the economic, political and social spheres resulted in these new constitutional models which can be understood through a comparative study.By understanding this, advantages and disadvantages of each country to improve social inclusion of indigenous peoples in all the mentioned spheres can be found. In the first title, I will talk about the meaning of legal pluralism. In the second, I will discussthe new models of statewhich are conditioned by legal pluralism and indigenous rights. In the third, I will address indigenous autonomies and jurisdictions that are the subject of our study. And in the remaining two titles, I will discuss the most distinctive features, and rights arising from the recognition of this unique legal pluralism. All this with the purpose of exposing the new constitutional spirit of "decolonization" of these countries.
Topic:
Human Rights, Post Colonialism, Legal Theory, Colonialism, Decolonization, and Economic Inequality
Political Geography:
United States, Colombia, South America, Latin America, North America, Ecuador, and Bolivia