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Petrini, Benjamin (2018) The Political Economy of Conflict and DDR in Meta, Colombia, and the Employment Life Cycle of Ex‐Combatants. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30264 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. The Political Economy of Conflict and DDR in Meta, Colombia, and the Employment Life Cycle of Ex- Combatants BENJAMIN PETRINI Thesis submitted for the Degree of PhD 2018 Department of Development Studies SOAS, University of London 1 Abstract The research explores the transition from war to peace in the Colombian region of Meta, through the parallel analysis of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process, and of the individual combatants’ path from recruitment to reintegration. The overall research goal is to account for the multifaceted nature of DDR within the transition from war to peace and to untangle DDR implications both in the short term for the life of ex- combatants and in the long term with regard to the implications for state formation and peacebuilding processes. The thesis is the product of complementing research components with intertwined levels of analysis. Conceptually, the research proposes a critical read of the DDR role in war to peace transition contexts. It advances an alternative understanding of war to peace transition and of DDR based on political economy factors to explain the complexity of war mobilization and demobilization. Secondly, through a case study, the research analyses the contemporary DDR processes in Meta in the 2000s, which include the collective demobilization of the paramilitary federation of the AUC and the individual DDR program that targeted the left-wing rebel groups of the FARC and of the ELN. The DDR analysis is complemented by an in-depth historical political economy analysis of the conflict in Meta, which traces the conflict factors that explain the rise of conflictive dynamics and ensuing formation of non-state armed groups in this region. Last, an empirical analysis addresses the relationship between employment and conflict through the analysis of life cycles of ex-combatants. The research approaches individuals’ decisions to mobilize for war and demobilize from war, within a framework of employment- seeking behaviour. It posits that the search for employment and livelihoods needs are a crucial driver for joining a non-state armed group and that employment is a key feature of a reintegration path. 3 Table of contents FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................ 7 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 9 PART I – THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 24 1. THEORIES AND PRACTICES OF WAR TO PEACE TRANSITION ............................................................... 25 1.1 CONCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS OF LIBERAL PEACE ................................................................................... 26 1.2 PEACEBUILDING AND WAR TO PEACE TRANSITION IN LATIN AMERICA ................................................ 31 1.3 DDR: CONCEPTUALIZING AND OPERATIONALIZING THE TRANSITION ................................................... 36 2. TOWARDS AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH ON WAR, PEACE AND DDR ................................................ 48 2.1 A HISTORICAL POLITICAL ECONOMY APPROACH TO WAR AND POST-WAR TRANSITION .................. 48 2.2 A POLITICAL ECONOMY APPROACH TO DDR .............................................................................................. 63 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 72 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN, CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES ............................................ 72 3.2 ETHICS, SECURITY, FIELDWORK AND RESEARCH TECHNIQUES ............................................................... 78 PART II - CASE STUDY: WAR TO PEACE TRANSITION AND DDR IN META .......................................................... 92 4. A HISTORICAL POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF CONFLICT IN META, COLOMBIA ......................... 93 4.1 POLITICAL AND CONFLICT DYNAMICS OF THE EASTERN LLANOS UP TO 1948 .................................... 97 4.2 LAND TENURE AND META’S ECONOMY ..................................................................................................... 102 4.3 LA VIOLENCIA IN THE EASTERN LLANOS AND ITS AFTERMATH ............................................................ 105 4.4 A TENUOUS POST-WAR AND THE RISE OF COMMUNIST GUERRILLA GROUPS ................................... 114 4.5 CONFLICT FROM THE 1980S ON: NEW DYNAMICS, ARMED ACTORS AND VIOLENCE ....................... 120 5. THE DYNAMICS OF DDR IN THE 2000S ............................................................................................. 136 5.1 THE COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL DEMOBILIZATION PROCESSES ...................................................... 136 5.2 THE POLITICS AND THE POLICIES OF REINTEGRATION .......................................................................... 142 5.3 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF POST-DDR SECURITY IN META ............................................................. 150 PART III - THE WAR LIFE CYCLE OF EX-COMBATANTS: EMPLOYMENT, MOBILIZATION AND DEMOBILIZATION ..................................................................................................................................................................... 159 6. TRANSITION FROM CIVILIAN LIFE TO THE ARMED GROUP: DYNAMICS AND DRIVERS OF RECRUITMENT AND MOBILIZATION ........................................................................................................ 160 6.1 INDIVIDUAL LEVEL: PERSONAL STORIES OF MOBILIZATION ................................................................. 162 6.2 STRUCTURAL FACTORS OF RECRUITMENT ................................................................................................ 171 6.3 ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL: ARMED GROUP’S PRACTICES ........................................................................ 184 7. EMPLOYMENT IN CONFLICT: A ‘JOB’ IN A NON-STATE ARMED GROUP ............................................ 195 7.1 INDIVIDUAL LEVEL: ROLES AND JOBS WITHIN AN ARMED GROUP ...................................................... 199 7.2 ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL: REBEL GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES ....................................... 213 8. TRANSITION FROM THE ARMED GROUP BACK TO CIVILIAN LIFE: DDR, REINTEGRATION AND RECIDIVISM ................................................................................................................................................ 224 8.1 DYNAMICS OF DEMOBILIZATION ................................................................................................................. 226 8.2 ECONOMIC REINTEGRATION: THE EMPLOYMENT FACTOR .................................................................... 235 8.3 DRIVERS AND DYNAMICS OF RECIDIVISM ................................................................................................. 245 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................. 255 ANNEX 1: PROFILE OF 31 EX-COMBATANTS .......................................................................................... 272 ANNEX 2: DEMOGRAPHICS OF EX-COMBATANTS’ SAMPLE .................................................................... 275 ANNEX 3: LIST OF INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................... 278 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................................... 280 4 List of Tables TABLE I.1: A RESEARCH ON THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WAR AND EMPLOYMENT .......................... 21 TABLE 3.1: UNDERSTANDING THE LABOR MARKET OF WAR ................................................................ 77 TABLE 3.2: RESEARCH SAMPLE AND EX-COMBATANTS’ POPULATION IN META AND COLOMBIA ...... 82 TABLE 3.3: SUMMARY OF RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES ............................................................ 87 TABLE 4.1: LAND CONCENTRATION AND ATTEMPTED REFORM ........................................................ 104 TABLE 5.1: COLLECTIVE DEMOBILIZATIONS IN THE 1990S ............................................................... 137 TABLE 5.2: PARAMILITARY DEMOBILIZATION IN META ....................................................................

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