The Colombia--Ecuador Border Region: Between Informal Dynamics and Illegal Practices

This paper examines two different phenomena in the Amazonian border region, taking into account the analytical framework of international relations to understand the way in which States face them: (1) the informal dynamics of everyday life that have been part of the State formation process, and (2) illegal practices. We argue that they are different but not independent processes. First, informal sectors are part of the “political economy of war,” due to the incipient consolidation of the State, linked to historical isolation and the strong influence of the internal armed conflict in Colombia’s border region and its transnational dynamics in Ecuador. Legal activities often finance illegal activities of non-state armed actors and depend on it. Second, public policies in the region are based on a national or regional security point of view without articulating with regional integration policies. Finally, States act individually in the Andean region with no policies of cooperation at all. This lack of articulation has had a negative impact on human security. States’ responses to illegal activities have failed, leading to a capturing of the political system. Nonetheless, guerrilla and Colombian government peace talks have opened a new path to think differently on how to consolidate the State control and to build social linkages based on regional integration, social inclusion and consolidation of democratic rule.