Venezuela’s Role as External Sponsor of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP)

This project will analyze how external support shapes insurgent group cohesion. It focuses on Venezuelan sponsorship of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces-People’s Army (FARC-EP), which seems to have both improved and undermined FARC-EP cohesion at different points in the conflict. This case provides a key anomaly to existing approaches, and an in-depth study promises new insights into the complex international politics of civil wars. We propose to study why Venezuelan sponsorship contributed to cohesion and mistrust at different times. Examining the relationship between Venezuela and the FARC-EP contributes to our current understanding of the role of external sponsors. We contribute to the existing literature on the organization turn in civil wars, state sponsors and international dynamics of cohesion and fragmentation.

Faculty Supervisor:

Théodore McLauchlin

Student:

Partner:

University of York

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public Service, Policy, and Governance

University:

Université de Montréal

Program: