The study questions how violence broke out during the Colombian protracted social conflict between the FARC and the Colombian state. By using the war system to study violence the research brings a...Show moreThe study questions how violence broke out during the Colombian protracted social conflict between the FARC and the Colombian state. By using the war system to study violence the research brings a new perspective on the Colombian armed conflict. The research’s findings suggest that the Colombian war system broke after the FARC expanded in the early 1980s. As a result, a set of events was set in motion related to the balance of power and the economic opportunities of the fighting actors. While the territorial expansion of the FARC provided new opportunities for the paramilitaries in terms of privatized protection, both actors grew rich on the Colombian coca boom. The study then uses Marxist Political Economy to analyze conflicting interests between the FARC and the paramilitary forces, leading to a struggle for land. The methods employed by the actors to pursue their goals translated into the exorbitant levels of violence that have characterized the conflict.Show less
