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The Colombian Case: Rebranding Counterinsurgency as Counterterrorism

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The Palgrave Handbook of Global Counterterrorism Policy

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Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive account of the evolution of counterterrorism (CT) policy in Colombia. It will explore the changing policy approaches implemented by this South American country since the 1980s to face the twin threat posed by historic Marxist-Leninist insurgent groups and the advent of drug cartels, which have employed terrorism to advance their strategic goals. Together with an examination of the changes of government posture and the adaptation of the instruments at its disposal (military, legal, economic) to confront the threat of terrorism, this chapter will also focus on the internationalization of the Colombian conflict. This chapter will assess the growing engagement of the US since 1999 via “Plan Colombia,” a billion-dollar security assistance program initially conceived for counternarcotics, and which, since 2001, has focused on the development of wide-raging CT capabilities. In this sense, it will explain the extent to which US assistance has determined the configuration of the country’s CT policy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College London, London, UK

    Jorge E. Delgado

Authors
  1. Jorge E. Delgado
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Correspondence to Jorge E. Delgado .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of International Studies, University of Trento, Trento, Trento, Italy

    Scott Nicholas Romaniuk

  2. Department of Political Science and International Studies, McDaniel College , Westminster, Maryland, USA

    Francis Grice

  3. Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Catania, Italy

    Daniela Irrera

  4. DefenceReport, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

    Stewart Webb

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Delgado, J.E. (2017). The Colombian Case: Rebranding Counterinsurgency as Counterterrorism. In: Romaniuk, S., Grice, F., Irrera, D., Webb, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Counterterrorism Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55769-8_12

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