Abstract

GARCIA REYES, Paola. Land, oil palm and armed conflict in the Bajo Atrato region of Chocó, Colombia. A reading since the change in extraction orders. Estud. Socio-Juríd [online]. 2014, vol.16, n.1, pp.209-244. ISSN 0124-0579.  https://doi.org/dx.doi.org/10.12804/esj16.1.2014.05.

Since the 1990s, the Colombian Pacific region has experienced a process of intensification of the internal armed conflict. Some studies have described this as an unintended consequence of the legal recognition by the state of black inhabitants of the region as ethnic groups with rights to the lands in their territory. This document explores the relationship between this change in the structure of land ownership and the dynamics of the armed conflict in the region (1985-2005), focusing on the Bajo Atrato region in Colombia. At the same time, it asks to what extent those dynamics are related to the planting and exploitation of palm oil. The concept of extractive orders, taken from the literature on the political economy of armed conflicts, will be introduced to explore the relationship between changes in land tenure regimes, palm oil cultivation and armed conflict. The main conclusion of the analysis is that the change in the structure of land property rights does not explain the conflict in the region. Instead, the type of armed actors involved is a relevant variable.

Keywords : Armed conflict; extractive orders; land property rights; oil palm.

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