The blurred lines between war and crime : the case of Colombia

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research assignment deals with the breakdown in the Clausewitzian concept ofthe modern trinitarian structure of war. Martin Van Creveld in his book entitled, 'TheTransformation of War written in 1991, discusses 'Future War' and the way in whichwars will be fought. It will not be the highly technical interstate kind of war the Westhas been preparing for, but rather low intensity conflict where the lines between state,soldier and civilian become blurred, society becomes a war zone and the conflictbecomes a more direct experience for the people.Colombia is a prime example of where this is occurring and the most salientmanifestation of the low intensity conflict is the blurring of the lines between war andcrime. There are left wing guerrillas fighting for social justice for the dispossessedpopulation, but their tactics resemble crime and the government views them asterrorists. They run a self-sufficient organisation, one of the most profitable insurgentgroups in the world largely funded through kidnap ransom payments. The right-wingparamilitaries are on a quest to cleanse Colombian society of the guerrillas andassassinate suspected guerrilla sympathisers. To complicate issues, both insurgentgroups are involved in the drug trafficking trade, whether it be directly or by way oftaxing land on which coca is grown.In this situation, war and crime have become inextricably linked and a distinctionbetween the two is impossible on both practical and conceptual levels. However, if itis not crime and it is not war, but a complicated melange of the two, a new frameworkfor analysis is required in order to attempt a solution.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University