Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insugency and Its Implications for Regional Stability [Paperback]

Peter Chalk (Author), Angel Rabasa (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0833029940 | ISBN-13: 978-0833029942 | Publication Date: June 8, 2001 | Edition: 1

U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but the evolving situation in that South American country confronts the United States with as much of a national security as a drug policy problem. Colombia is a geostrategically important country, whose trajectory will influence broader trends in the Andean region and beyond. Colombian Labyrinth examines the sources of instability in the country; the objectives, strategy, strengths, and weaknesses of the government, guerrillas, and paramilitaries and the balances among them; and the effects of the current U.S. assistance program. Possible scenarios and futures for Colombia are laid out, with implicaitons for both the United States and neighboring countries. The authors find that instability in Colombia stems from the interaction and synergies of the underground drug economy and armed challenges to the state's authority.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Drug trafficking and political disintegration in Colombia could con-frontthe United States, if present trends continue, with the most se-riousforeign and security policy crisis in the Western Hemispheresince the Central American wars of the 1980s. The first question iswhy Colombia matters. U.S. policy toward Colombia has beendriven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but thesituation in that South American country is a national security asmuch as a drug policy problem. Colombia is a strategically importantcountry. It is South America's fourth largest country in area and thesecond largest in population. It is the only South American countrywith coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and it is con-tiguousto the Caribbean basin, Central America, Venezuela and itsoil fields, and Panama and the Canal. Colombia also has some of thelargest untapped petroleum reserves in the Western Hemisphere.Colombia's trajectory will also influence the direction of broadertrends in the unstable Andean region and beyond.This study, conducted in Project AIR FORCE's Strategy and DoctrineProgram, examinesthe sources of instability in Colombia;the objectives, strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of the majorColombian actors-government, guerrillas, and paramilitaries-and the balance of forces among them; andthe impact of the U.S. assistance program.The study concludes with possible scenarios for Colombia and theimplications of these scenarios for the security and stability of neigh-boringstates and U.S. regional security interests.This research was sponsored by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Air andSpace Operations, U.S. Air Force (AF/XO), and the Director ofStrategic Planning, U.S. Air Force (AF/XPX). It is part of a largerstudy, entitled "New Challenges for the U.S. Air Force," that reviews"off-baseline" scenarios and threats-those receiving little attentionin the defense community-for the purpose of identifying weak linksin potential U.S. Air Force operations. Concurrent research is exam-iningpotential vulnerabilities and remedies in the deployment andemployment of aerospace forces.This report should be of value to the national security communityand interested members of the general public, especially those withan interest in Latin America and the future of hemispheric relations.Comments are welcome and should be sent to the authors or to theproject leader, David Shlapak. Research was completed in January2001.PROJECT AIR FORCEProject AIR FORCE, a division of RAND, is the United States AirForce's Federally Funded Research and Development Center(FFRDC) for studies and analyses. It provides the Air Force with in-dependentanalyses of policy alternatives affecting the development,employment, combat readiness, and support of current and futureaerospace forces. Research is performed in four programs: Aero-spaceForce Development; Manpower, Personnel, and Training;Resource Management; and Strategy and Doctrine.

About the Author

Peter Chalk (University of British Columbia, Canada, Ph.D., 1994, in Political Science) researches terrorism, transnational crime and issues of national, regional and internationalsecurity at Rand. Angel M. Rabasa (Ph.D., History, Harvard University) is a senior policy analyst at Rand. He was previously the Deputy Director, Office of Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore Affairs at the Department of State and has held numerous State and Defense Department positions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Rand Publishing; 1 edition (June 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833029940
• ISBN-13: 978-0833029942
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,356,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Colombian Labyrinth, August 25, 2001

By 

Rensselaer Lee (McLean, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insugency and Its Implications for Regional Stability (Paperback)

COLOMBIAN LABYRINTH is an uneven but generally useful study of the drugs-insurgency nexus in Colombia and its significance for U.S. policy. The discussion of the illicit drug business breaks little new ground and misses important post-cartel dynamics such as the FARC's increased downstream participation in the business as traders and even exporters. On the other hand military-strategic topics such as the guerrillas' force structure and power seeking strategies, the military requirements for countering the growing guerrilla threat, and the implications of Colombia's civil conflict for regional stability are handled quite successfully. The authors point to the sometimes competing imperatives of drug-fighting and counter-insurgency--a difficulty epitomized by the dysfunctional coca spraying campaign--and argue correctly that U.S. policy should give priority to strengthening Colombian state institutions,including the military.(They might have recalled the example of Peru, which suspended eradication of coca at the end of the 1980s to garner rural support for the fight against Sendero,) The discussion of alternative Colombian futures is gloomy but thought-provoking and well worth the attention of Colombia specialists and policymakers. A scenario that might have been mentioned is the devolution of the FARC, or parts of the movement, into a preeminently criminal organization with a scaled down political agenda--seeking, perhaps, a free hand to traffic in drugs within defined spheres while acknowledging the overall authority of the Colombian state.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Colombian labyrinth, June 12, 2003

By 

luis A ramirez (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insugency and Its Implications for Regional Stability (Paperback)

Colombian labyrinth is an objective, concise study of Colombia's instability as it unfolds from the interaction of criminal drug economies and growth of armed challenges to the state's authority. The study revolves about the three-sided civil conflict (government, guerrilla and self-defense groups) and how each one of them plays a critical role in the Colombian stability. On one hand, the study concisely touches upon the scope and the dimensions of the drug-insurgency problem, origins of the main players (guerrilla, self-defense groups), and their strategies. On the other hand, it discusses the Colombian government's response to the crisis in the form of peace negotiations, and the counter-narcotics U.S. assisted strategy, Plan Colombia (Colombian Project). In addition, it briefly presents a number of though-provoking scenarios for the Colombian state as a result of different circumstances. The study finishes by examining the spread of the conflict to neighboring countries and their respective response. Unfortunately, the study does not elaborate on the U.S. repercussions as they derive from the synergies of drug-insurgency complex.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tier-one research & honest comments, August 8, 2003

By 

Bert Ruiz "Author" (Pleasantville, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insugency and Its Implications for Regional Stability (Paperback)

I was impressed that the funding for this Rand study was provided by the U.S. Air Force. It is good to know a key player in the Pentagon is interested in the fundamental facts about Colombia free of the Washington Beltway political sugar-coating. To this end, "Colombian Labyrinth; The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability," is filled with tier-one research and honest comments.

To begin with authors Angel Rabasa and Peter Chalk carefully explain the weakness of the Colombian government. Certainly conditions have improved in Colombia since the publication of this text in June of 2001 but government power still resides in the big cities and is diminished in the countryside. However, the one nugget of research that the authors wisely publish is that Colombia has some of the largest untapped petroleum reserves in the Western Hemisphere. It helps explain why Colombia is the third largest receiver of U.S. foreign aid in the world after Israel and Egypt.

Still and all, a big point of this book is that the heralded President Clinton/Pastrana "Plan Colombia" U.S. aid program is a "doubtful strategy," according the the authors. Moreover, the central government's loss of authority, economic deterioration, social disintegration, the development of an underground criminal drug economy and the dangerous growth of armed challenges to the state's authority are all well-documented and discussed. The text also offers sound advice to the core problems, particularly the human rights violations by the violent actors in Colombia. Overall, this sleek and compact book is a valuable guide to the complexity of the crisis in Colombia.

Bert Ruiz