Romancing the stone: The ups and downs of the conflict in the emerald region of Colombia

The new political economy of armed conflicts focuses on understanding which natural resources are linked to which kind of organized violence and in what way (Collier 1998; Humphreys 2005; Le Billon 2001; Ross 2004; Snyder 2006; Weinstein 2007). According to the flourishing literature on the link between natural resources and violence, the countries which export basic primary products (commodities) are vulnerable to high levels of organized violence, due to the fact that, in principle, these resources offer an easy source of financing for rebels. In addition, the countries which produce these goods have relatively weak state capacities. As a result,...