The author argues that confidence in an efficient, courageous and transparent judiciary goes to the very heart of the governability of Colombia, and that Plan Colombia does not address the root causes of Colombia's problems. These are weak government, inequality, absence of citizen participation, corruption and an ineffective legal system. Fundamental reforms in Colombia should begin by directly strengthening the moral legitimacy of the government, holistically enhancing socioeconomic development, and meticulously reforming the legal system, thus reestablishing the rule of law. The rule of law, in turn, is critical to the achievement of the ultimate purposes of Plan Colombia--peace, prosperity, and the strengthening of the state. Systemic reform requires well-conceived, long-term, and careful implementation. Unless thinking and actions are reoriented to deal with these realities, the alternative is social calamity, criminal anarchy, and civil war.

The intention of the U.S. Army War College and The Dante B. Fascell North-South Center has been to elucidate as broadly as possible the many facets of the Colombian dilemma, the worst security problem which the Western Hemisphere faces today. This monograph concerns the challenge to reform Colombian judicial institutions. Plan Colombia carries with it, by the reckoning of President Andres Pastrana's government, a $7.5 billion price tag. The United States has committed $1.3 billion to the effort, largely in military aid, antinarcotics programs, and the equipment and training that go with them. Europe is supposed to provide $1 billion in humanitarian aid, social programs, and other nonmilitary assistance, but its money has not been forthcoming. Meanwhile, the United States does, through the United States Agency for International Development, offer a $122 million package for judicial reform and, in fact, has carried out programs of judicial reform in the past.

Terrorism law is as international as it is regionally distinct and as difficult to define as it is essential to address. Given recent pressures to harmonize terrorism laws from international organizations like the United Nations Security Council, the Financial Action Task Force, and the Council of Europe, this book presents readers with an up-to-date assessment of terrorism law across the globe. Covering twenty-two jurisdictions across six continents, the common framework used for each chapter facilitates national comparisons of a range of laws including relevant criminal, administrative, financial, secrecy, and military laws. Recognizing that similar laws may yield different outcomes when transplanted into new contexts, priority of place is given to examples of real-world application. Including a thematic introduction and conclusion, this book will help to establish comparative counter-terrorism law as an emerging discipline crossing the boundaries of domestic and international law.

The 2009 Failed States Index identifies many nations as being in danger of becoming failed states--in fact, two-thirds of the world's states are critical, borderline, or in danger of becoming just that. Failed states do not possess the necessary conditions to have truly sovereign governments that meet the needs of their populations. Colombia garnered a rating of 89 on the 2009 Failed States Index, just below that of Kyrgyzstan. It has experienced conflict for decades and as the author observed, was a 'paradigm for a failing state' in that it was replete with terrorism, kidnapping, murder, corruption, and general lawlessness. But today it is much safer through the imposition of the Rule of Law. The author addresses the rule of law and its impact on Colombia.--Publisher description.

The post-Cold War world has seen the emergence of new kinds of security threats. Whilst traditionally security threats were perceived of in terms of military threats against a state, non-traditional security threats are those that pose a threat to various internal competencies of the state and its identity both home and abroad. The European Union and the United States have identified Latin American cocaine trafficking as a security threat, but their policy responses to it have differed. This book examines the ways in which the EU and the US have conceptualized this threat. Furthermore, it explores the impact of cocaine trafficking on four state functions - economic, political, public order and diplomatic - in order to explain why it has become 'securitized'. Appealing to a variety of university courses, this book is especially relevant to security studies and European and US policy analysis, as well as criminology and sociology.