Drug-Trafficking in Colombia

The New Civil War Against Democracy and Peacebuilding

Bibliographic Data

ID12939399
AuthorsMaría-Paula Espejo (0000-0001-5742-5841, Western University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume18
Issue34
Pages157-192
Publication date2021-06-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCo-herencia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1794-5887 • E-ISSN: 2539-1208
PublisherUniversidad EAFIT (PUBLISHER • CO)
DOI10.17230/co-herencia.18.34.6
OpenAlexW3176068986
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited45

Drug-trafficking in Colombia has been a widely researched phenomenon, especially now, as the country undergoes a transition process with its older guerrilla. Now more than ever it is fundamental to examine how drug-trafficking organizations violent activities affect the consolidation of peace. This article considers different approaches to study violence derived from drug-trafficking, in order to advance towards the objectives of transitional justice. For that matter, this work is based on the idea that drug-trafficking directly generates and reproduces violence which is fueled by the structural violence present in the Colombian context. My thesis is that this phenomenon deters non-repetition guarantees and weakens democracy, which is why there will be three main arguments presented that will revolve around the lack of consensus and the implications of considering drug wars as civil wars, how decisions related to the conceptual apprehension limit the competence of international humanitarian law, and the need for holistic strategies capable of facing drug-trafficking’s political and violent power. Later, alternatives will be explored around the possibilities that each argument offers, as well as which aspects could contribute to a more appropriate approach to combat drug-trafficking. Lastly, I will defend why implementing bottom-up oriented actions can advance towards transitional justice’s intermediate and final objectives, as it is the only alternative that escapes fatalist, utopian or interventionist scenarios

Criminology · Democracy · Democratization · Law and economics · Peacebuilding · Phenomenon · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Transitional justice · Conflict, Peace, and Violence in Colombia · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · History and Politics in Latin America · Law

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