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A land full of opportunities? Agrarian frontiers, policy narratives and the political economy of peace in Colombia

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  • Jacobo Grajales

    (IUF - Institut Universitaire de France - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, CERAPS - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Administratives, Politiques et Sociales - UMR 8026 - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

In many post-war countries, the relative security brought to rural areas is construed by government officials and business actors as an opportunity for development. This is particularly true for marginal areas, where opportunities for economic development had previously been hindered by the threat of violence. This provides a favourable context for the construction of commodity frontiers. Through the case of Colombia, I show that one of the main challenges faced by frontier policy narratives amounts to differentiating wartime dispossession from peacetime legitimate accumulation. This poses intractable challenges to policymakers and business actors, as it fuels the contradictions between peace consolidation and post-war development.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacobo Grajales, 2020. "A land full of opportunities? Agrarian frontiers, policy narratives and the political economy of peace in Colombia," Post-Print hal-02553099, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02553099
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2020.1743173
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.univ-lille.fr/hal-02553099
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Maher & Andrew Thomson, 2018. "A precarious peace? The threat of paramilitary violence to the peace process in Colombia," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(11), pages 2142-2172, November.
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    3. Marina Ottaway, 2002. "Rebuilding State Institutions in Collapsed States," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 33(5), pages 1001-1023, November.
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    Keywords

    Agrarian frontiers; Post-conflict development policies; Policy narratives; Agribusiness; Colombia;
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