The Agrarian Question and Violence in Colombia: Conflict and Development

Abstract

Abstract-

The Fatal Attraction of Civil War Economies: Foreign Direct Investment and Political Violence, A Case Study of Colombia

“…Instead, this acceptance can serve an entirely different function by highlighting that, while progress is something worth struggling for, “The idea needs to be tempered by a sharper awareness that it will not erase the essential sources of suffering in society” (Cramer :47). Moreover, as Thomson (:327) argues, sectors of the economy that benefit from violence may represent “progress” in terms of job creation and foreign exchange earnings; however, for displaced communities, this type of violent development constitutes the obverse of “progress.” This is especially true given the acute welfare losses experienced by the victims of forced displacement (Ibáñez and Moya ).…”

The rifle and the title: paramilitary violence, land grab and land control in Colombia

“…This link is difficult to prove, but it is unequivocal that criminal actors not only managed to legalize their profits, but also to finance this conversion with public funds. As argued by Frances Thomson (2011), the role of paramilitary groups in several agribusiness and mining projects, of which oil palm crops are a paradigmatic instance, contributes to a critique of the conventional version of the development-security nexus.…”

Rooted in Violence: Civil War, International Trade and the Expansion of Palm Oil in Colombia

“…In contrast to the 'development in reverse' dictum, a number of critical scholars posit that the upshot of violence in Colombia's conflict has often been economic development under a capitalist logic (e.g., see Escobar 2004aEscobar , 2004bColeman 2007;Grajales 2011;Thomson 2011). …”

“…If the accounts of critical scholars are accurate, then this process of forced displacement has bolstered capitalist development in Colombia through the violent acquisition of land for commercial purposes. One sector that is argued to particularly benefit from forced displacement is agribusiness (e.g., Thomson 2011), especially considering the large swathes of land which are required for the industrial harvesting of commercial crops. A crop which fits this description is palm oil.…”