This book examines the state-building process in Colombia, specifically in the Pacific Coast region. Using the regionally isolated and historically neglected Pacific Coast as a case study, the authors analyze the Colombian nation-building and democratic processes, applying diverse methodology and an interdisciplinary focus. The early chapters lay the foundation of the text through the historical reconstruction of political turmoil in Colombia and the birth of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and its confrontations with the government establishment. It then moves to a public choice analysis of public policy and clientelism within local democracies. The later chapters test the theoretical models using regional information about governability and election result patterns and discuss a further research agenda. Grounded in behavioral models with clearly defined agents, contingency plans, and outputs, this book will be of use to students studying Latin American political science and public policy, as well as researchers interested in state and nation-building and local governance.

Leading Colombian academics and experienced policy practitioners cast new light on their country in this systematic overview of policy analysis for an international audience. Examining the historical development and current status of policy analysis as a field of study and in practice, it considers public policy analysis in government and the judiciary, and across domains including health, education and the military. Contributors also delve into Colombia’s notable success in economic regeneration, the management of cultural diversity and the resolution of long-term internal armed conflict. Not just an important summation of policy analysis in Colombia, this book also provides insights and lessons applicable elsewhere.

This book generates a wealth of new empirical information about Latin American party systems and contributes richly to major theoretical debates about party systems and democracy.

Using original fieldwork, Violent Resistance explains when, where, and how communities form militias to defend themselves in civil wars.

This book explores food provisioning in Colombia by examining the role and impact of the agrarian negotiations which took place in the aftermath of the 2013–2014 national strikes. Most of the research in the field of agrarian studies in Colombia has focused on inequalities in land distribution, the impacts of violent conflict, and most recently, the first phase of the peace agreement implementation. This book links and complements these literatures by critically engaging with an original framework that uncovers the conflicts and politics of food provisioning: who produces what and where, and with what socio-economic effects. This analytical lens is used to explain the re-emergence of national agrarian movements, their contestation of the dominant development narratives and their engagement in discussions about food sovereignty with the state. The analysis incorporates a wide range of voices from high-level government representatives and leaders from national agrarian movements. Their narratives of food provisioning and the broader role of the food industry are reviewed and the key findings show an underlying conflict within food provisioning based on the struggle of marginalised smallholders to develop alternative agri-food systems that can be included in the local and domestic food markets in the context of a state dominated by an export and import approach. Overall, the book argues that the battle ground of agrarian conflicts has moved to the fi eld of food provisioning and using this approach has the potential to reframe the debate about the future of food and agriculture in Colombia and beyond. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food and agriculture, rural development, peasant studies, and Latin American Studies.

This Public Governance Review offers advice to help Colombia address its governance challenges effectively and efficiently over time. It provides an assessment and recommendations on how to improve its ability to set, steer, and implement multi-year national development strategy.

This book explains the growing empowerment of the Colombian Constitutional Court in the early years of the 21st century and develops the concept of the deliberative judge. Taking the case of the Colombian Constitutional Court and drawing on neoinstitutional theory to explain the relationship between political crisis and institutional reforms, the book challenges the notion of rational choice institutionalism that agents act strategically. It indicates the limits of path dependence and argues instead that discursive institutionalism is the most appropriate method for analyzing processes of institutional learning. Combining theoretical and empirical research, it builds the argument that judicial independence promotes the case for deliberative democracy over rational choice or strategic action approaches. Finally, the book suggests that by introducing communicative and cognitive variables in our understanding of key actors and processes, we are more capable of bridging institutional origin and legacy. The work will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policy-makers in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Politics, and Constitutional History.