CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Dreams and Drugs of the Revolution: The Role of the Coca Plant in Counterinsurgency Against the F.A.R.C.

Diamond 223

As my title may suggest, I am interested in researching the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) as a target of transnational insurgency and cocaines place in facilitating this volatile political relationship. I aim to address the following question in my paper: What is the coca plants relevance to the Colombian governments ongoing struggle against FARC rebels in the nations south, and how is it used by each group? I would like to answer this question by analyzing the FARCs development utilizing a few different lenses which emphasize economic growth, political clout, societal interaction, and internal dynamics. These lenses encompass broad sets of concepts which will undoubtedly overlap; having the ability to draw adequate distinctions between them will depend heavily on my thorough compilation of academic sources. After having looked through a diverse set of publications, I believe I have found sufficient information to begin a research project. Such a project addresses my curiosity in leftist dissidence, guerrilla warfare, ethnic marginalization, and political economy. It also follows an idea that can be quantitatively tracked with tables and national statistics, yet accurately described in detail with qualitative methods. The specific communities I will aim to study include southern towns like Putumayo (Quechua for Gushing River) where the plant has a clear presence. People who will be important include members of insurgency groups who may receive funding from drug sales, government officials who prosecute drug sellers and others who interact with the drug on a daily basis (i.e. growers, users). I am also looking into contacting a friend in the Bronx, New York about conducting an ethnographic interview with his father, a former FARC rebel.

https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2015/program/224