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What is the state made of? Coca, roads, and the materiality of state formation in the frontier

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  • Peñaranda Currie, Isabel
  • Otero-Bahamon, Silvia
  • Uribe, Simón

Abstract

The Peace Accords signed between the Colombian government and Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia argues that one of the central causes of the armed conflict has been the historic state absence or abandonment of the peripheral territories most affected by its violence. It proposes expanding the state to these regions, and posits that certain material conditions – such as the construction of infrastructure – would have a pacifying effect and promote better governance, while others – like the presence of illicit crops – would undermine these goals. These presumptions fail to recognize the multiple and variegated experiences of state formation that have unfolded in the territories. We argue that in these regions, there has been no gradual and linear progression from state absence to state presence, nor has the presence of the state been historically equated with peace. We analyze the process of state-building in the frontier municipality of Cartagena de Chairá between 1978 and 2016, by observing the relations activated and enabled by two material conditions: coca and roads. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, historical revision, interviews and cartography, we show the complex ways through which coca and roads 1) generate the conditions for the emergence of social and political orders 2) are the medium through which they are formed 3) are the product and instantiation of shifts in these orders and processes. This brief material history records the relationship between actors who participate in the complex and non-linear process of state-building in frontiers marked by the armed conflict. Ultimately, we stress that material conditions do impact state-formation, but the peacebuilding efforts must not understand this as a mechanical relationship and must rather inquire about the nature of the articulation and power structures realized through these material conditions, as well as the kind of state they build. In doing so, these materialities can contribute towards constructing a just and enduring peace.

Suggested Citation

  • Peñaranda Currie, Isabel & Otero-Bahamon, Silvia & Uribe, Simón, 2021. "What is the state made of? Coca, roads, and the materiality of state formation in the frontier," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:141:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x21000073
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105395
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mitchell, Timothy, 1991. "The Limits of the State: Beyond Statist Approaches and their Critics," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 85(1), pages 77-96, March.
    2. Adriana Camacho and Daniel Mejia, 2015. "The Health Consequences of Aerial Spraying of Illicit Crops: The Case of Colombia - Working Paper 408," Working Papers 408, Center for Global Development.
    3. Leonardo Villar & Juan Mauricio Ramírez, 2014. "Infraestructura regional y pobreza rural," Working Papers Series. Documentos de Trabajo 11555, Fedesarrollo.
    4. Richard Kernaghan, 2012. "Furrows and Walls, or the Legal Topography of a Frontier Road in Peru," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 501-520.
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    Cited by:

    1. Santiago Pérez-Cardona, 2022. "Let the rebels rule? Evidence on the economic effects of rebel governance in Colombia," Documentos CEDE 19941, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    2. Herrera, Joel Salvador & Martinez-Alvarez, Cesar B., 2022. "Diversifying violence: Mining, export-agriculture, and criminal governance in Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    3. Abbey Steele & Michael Weintraub, 2022. "Rebel governance and political participation," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-98, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Sauls, Laura Aileen & Dest, Anthony & McSweeney, Kendra, 2022. "Challenging conventional wisdom on illicit economies and rural development in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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