Publication

This report provides a broad overview on the political and military struggle against insurgency and drugs in Colombia. The paper presents drugs and civil conflict as the major development obstacles in Colombia and introduces the various groups that are involved in these issues. Subsequently, the government’s initiatives in the field of counter-narcotics and security policy are summarized and related to the international dimension of the problem. The paper argues that the Colombian government needs to review the relationship between its counter-nacortics and security policies and to implement a broad rural development strategy and that international drug demand must be reduced.