Resolucion Conflicto

Short Discussion Paper: class readings 25th of September 2012. State/ Society Level Variables – Economic Incentives for Violence

Upon the basis of the readings regarding the economic motives forviolent conflict it is important to take into account that it is not possible to take a simplistic approach and generalize the causes of conflict in certain contexts just as issues of underdevelopment,lack of resources or economic greed. Even though economic variables do play a significant role in the creation and duration of conflict I agree with the authors that these economic variables are atthe core of the problem but become so important because they come together with other socio political variables that are present in each context and fuel up the impact of each other creating objectiveand subjective grievances.
For example in the case of Colombia the causes of the internal armed conflict are complex however, in recent years many scholars have simplified the actions of rebellionmovements such as the guerrillas to simple greed motivated movements or even going as far as arguing that these insurgency groups have transformed into mere criminal organizations that only seekeconomic benefits. Hence, these groups must undertake different strategies to be able to maintain their structures, in reference to recruitment and most importantly creating and preserving their troopsmotivated, to do this the use of subjective grievances is common, thus prolonging the conflict and their “working space”.
Nevertheless, this greed argument can leave out important issues of the conflictthat are vital to bear in mind in order to reach a future resolution. Casting rebellion as mere criminal act of greed rather than acknowledging that it is also a political phenomenon carries greatrisks of mischaracterizing legitimate grievances, which do have to be addressed in a future peace negotiation.
In Colombia it is clear that drug trafficking of illegal substances represents an...