Colombian Labyrinth : The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stabilit

U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven by counter-narcotics considerations, but as the authors of this important study point out, Colombia is a geostrategically significant country, whose trajectory influences broader trends in the Andean region and beyond. The book examines the sources of instability in the country and the objectives, strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of the four main parties to the conflict: first, the narcotrafficking guerrillas--the conflict's instigators; second, the Colombian government, including its military; third, the right-wing paramilitaries that fight the guerrillas; and, fourth, the U.S., which provides the government with economic and military assistance. The authors, who are senior policy analysts at the RAND national security research organization, lay out scenarios and futures for Colombia with implications for both the United States and neighboring countries. They believe that Colombia's instability stems from the interaction between the thriving underground drug economy and insurgent challenges to the state's authority. Solutions to the core problem--the weakness of the Colombian State--must focus on improving the government's military and institutional capabilities to regain control of the countryside. The authors also propose a framework for the United States to work with Colombia's neighbors to make sure that the insurgency does not lead to regional destabilization.