Geography 323 Colombia Case Study-- Brad, Breanne Claassen, Cam Klassen

1. COLOMBIA: 1948 –
Brad Quiring |
Breanne Claassen |
October 15, 2013
Cam Klassen

2. WHAT IS THE CONFLICT ALL ABOUT?
AND
WHEN DID IT HAPPEN?

3. COLOMBIA: BACKGROUND
1948-58: “La
Violencia”
1970’s: “War of LowIntensity”
1948 :
1965:
Leftist
Jorge
National
Gaiten
Liberation
assassinat Army (ELN)
ed
established
1958:
Conservatives
and Liberals
agree to form
National Front
1966:
Revolutionary
Armed Forces
of Colombia
(FARC)
established
2000 : “Plan
Colombia”
wins almost
$1 Billion US
in military aid
from US
1980 :
Drug boom

4. WHO IS INVOLVED?

5. COLOMBIA: WHO?
Left-Wing Guerrillas
-FARC-Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
-Largest revolutionary guerilla movement in conflict
-ELN-National Liberation Army
-Second largest guerilla movement in conflict
The United States
-Provided aid to Colombia as they were one of few who supported
Vietnam War
- Made Colombia largest recipient of US aid this year
Right-Wing Paramilitary Groups
-Created in 1980 by Colombian Army with help from US aid
- Created to combat revolutionary groups—became heavily involved
in drug war,
kidnapping and other movements
- Paramilitary has become the most relentless

6. HOW IS IT BEING
FINANCED?

7. COLOMBIA: HOW?
FARC Financing
EXTORTION IN US $
AUC Financing
30%
22%
$140, 000, 000
(The sum extorted from Oil Companies
each year by the ELN and FARC)
70%
Narcotics
78%
Data: (Barahona, 2011) and (Svante, 2005)
Other

8. WHY ARE THESE
PARTIES INVOLVED?

9. COLOMBIA: WHY?
Left-Wing Guerrillas
- An expression of the people… a political and military organization
whose aim is the
solution of the problems that affect the more than 30
million Colombians who live in poverty
The United States
- Cold War geopolitics
- Natural Resources
Right-Wing Paramilitary Groups
- Established following US recommendation
- Are the hired hands of those who have the most to lose in change

10. WHERE IS THIS
HAPPENING?

11. COLOMBIA: WHERE?
FARC
Guerrilla
Actions
1998 - 2005
- Conflicts located away
from city centers and
government areas
No. of actions
- Guerrilla exploit more
remote and
inaccessible areas
- Proximity to resources
Source: Government of Colombia, 2007

12. COLOMBIA: SUMMARY

13. REFERENCES
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http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/saii/features/main/2011/11/21/feature-02
Buhaug, Halvard and Scott Gates (2002). The Geography of Civil War. Journal of Peace Research no. 4: 417.
Buhaug, Halvard and Scott Gates, and PaiviLujala. (2009). Geography, Rebel Capability, and the Duration of Civil Conflict. The Journal of Conflict Resolution no. 4: 544.
Chomsky, Noam (2004). On Colombia: an introduction to Doug Stokes’ America’s Other War: Terrorizing Colombia. Zed Books.
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Cornell, Svante (2005). The Interaction of Narcotics and Conflict. Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 751-760. Available at
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.ufv.ca:2048/stable/30042417
Government of Colombia (2007). Human Rights. Available at http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/Paginas/DDHH.aspx
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Available at http://www.jstor.org.proxy.ufv.ca:2048/stable/40202912
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http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00396338.2013.767407.
Lopez, Giselle. (2011). Potential for Justice in a Culture of Violence. Department of Washington:Education2 (1): 1–20. http://depts.washington.edu/jsjweb/wpcontent/uploads/2011/05/JSJPRINTv1n2.-Lopez-G.pdf.
Petras, James (2001). Geopolitics of Plan Colombia. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 35/ No. 52/53 pp. 4617-4623. Available at
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.ufv.ca:2048/stable/4410105
Restrepo, J, M Spagat, and JF Vargas. (2003). The Dynamics of the Colombian Civil Conflict: A New Data Set. Homo Oeconomicus. Vol. 21. Ssrn.
http://personal.rhul.ac.uk/uhte/014/Research.htm.
Ross, Michael (2004). How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases. International Organization, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 35-67. Cambridge University
Press. Available at http://www.jstor.org.proxy.ufv.ca:2048/stable/3877888
Vargas, Gonzalo (2011). Drugs, Hearts and Minds: Irregular War and the Coca Economy in South Bolivar, Colombia. Civil Wars 13, no.1:21-39.