Hybrid Governance of the National Liberation Army in Colombia (1973-1990): National Challenges and Local Dynamics

Abstract

This text analyzes the common dynamics that Ejercito de Liberación Nacional (ELN) considered upon entering a territory between 1973 and 1990. The principal goal of the research was to identify the socioeconomic, political, and physiographic trends in the departments where the ELN maintained a significant presence. To achieve that, we use the hybrid governance approach, a key factor in determining that the armed group established parallel power structures. To achieve this, we used qualitative methodology, which describes, contrasts, compares, and analyzes the characteristics of the departments where the guerrilla group developed its activities. In this sense, we identified four common behaviors: the political work made by people close to territories with established bases, the interest in foreign companies, the importance of the natural exploitable resources, and the strategic value of previously studied physiography of the departments with difficult access. As a result, the legitimation of social bases was used by ELN to perpetuate the conflict in highly vulnerable contexts.