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Drugs, Violence, and Development in Colombia: A Department-Level Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Jennifer S. Holmes ,
Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres  and
Kevin M. Curtin
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Abstract

Observers say that drug production fuels violence in Colombia, but does coca production explain different levels of violence? This article examines the relationship between coca production and guerrilla violence by reviewing national-level data over time and studying Colombia by department, exploring the interactions among guerrilla violence, exports, development, and displacement. It uses historical analysis, cartographic visualization, and analysis of the trends in four high coca-producing and four violent Colombian departments, along with a department-level fixed effects model. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the department-level analysis suggests that coca production is not the driving force of contemporary Colombian guerrilla violence. Instead, economic factors and coca eradication emerge as prominent explanatory factors.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , Autumn 2006 , pp. 157 - 184
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2006

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