Building the State, Fighting the rebels. Military engineers and infrastructure in modern Colombia

The state expands, builds, and consolidates its presence through physical infrastructure. In countries experiencing active armed conflicts, the rationale for infrastructure development varies widely. This article analyses the infrastructure constructed by the Colombian Army in the context of the internal armed conflict, focusing on areas both with and without armed groups. Through fieldwork, interviews, the review and analysis of war plans and primary sources, and empirical data from 354 projects conducted by the Army, we argue that the state’s consolidated or uneven presence influences how the Army perceives infrastructure. Infrastructure is viewed as a tool for combating insurgencies in areas where political authority is challenged or threatened. Conversely, in regions devoid of competition, infrastructure plays a role in state-building during armed conflict. The findings enable us to identify four distinct zones that illustrate this variation. Ultimately, the Colombian experience highlights the diverse aspirations associated with infrastructure, ranging from the pursuit of peace to the struggle for political power.