Working Paper No.27. Criminal Rebels? A discussion of war and criminality from the Colombian experience.

From:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Published
1 January 2003
Country:
Colombia
Document Type:
Working Paper
Theme:
Governance and Conflict
First published:
1 January 2003
Authors:
Francisco Guti茅rrez San铆n

Abstract

The Colombian conflict seems to be a typical instance of a 'greedy war', and exhibits very strong links between criminal activities and rebel organisations. Against this, Guit茅rrez suggests that not even in Colombia does Collier's 'criminal rebels' thesis hold, with the Colombian case showing that criminality and war mix in ways that escape a strictly economic interpretation of war. Analysing the experience of the two leading Colombian guerrilla armies (FARC and ELN), he demonstrates the need for a different framework for the understanding of wars waged by non- (or not strictly) materialistic soldiers.

Citation

Guti茅rrez San铆n, F., Criminal Rebels? A discussion of war and criminality from the Colombian experience, Working Paper No.27 (series 1), 2003, London, UK; Crisis States Research Centre, 28 pp.

Updates to this page

Published 1 January 2003
Contents