José Antonio Gutiérrez D
Rebels-Turned-Narcos? The FARC-EP’s Political Involvement in Colombia’s Cocaine Economy
Gutiérrez D, José Antonio; Thomson, Frances
Authors
Frances Thomson
Abstract
According to the ‘rebels-turned-narcos’ premise, increasing involve- ment in the illicit drug industry causes insurgent groups to lose sight of their political aims, as they shift their focus to profit-making. The (former) Colombian rebel group, the FARC-EP, became a paragon for this idea. Drawing on primary research, we argue that the FARC-EP’s involvement in the illicit drug economy was itself political. Their involvement included governance activities, which are by their very nature political. Furthermore, these activities formed part of the FARC-EP’s political project, aimed at ensuring the reproduction of the peasant smallholder economy. Our argument challenges the reb- els-turned-narcos premise more broadly by showing why involve- ment in the illicit drug economy, on its own, is insufficient evidence to posit the depoliticization of an insurgent group.
Citation
Gutiérrez D, J. A., & Thomson, F. (2020). Rebels-Turned-Narcos? The FARC-EP’s Political Involvement in Colombia’s Cocaine Economy. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 44(1), 26-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2020.1793456
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Jun 27, 2020 |
Online Publication Date | Jul 15, 2020 |
Publication Date | Jul 15, 2020 |
Deposit Date | Sep 23, 2020 |
Publicly Available Date | Sep 23, 2020 |
Journal | Studies in Conflict and Terrorism |
Print ISSN | 1057-610X |
Electronic ISSN | 1521-0731 |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis Group |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 44 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 26-51 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2020.1793456 |
Keywords | illicit drugs; armed insurgency; Colombia; coca/cocaine; FARC-EP; rebel governance |
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