Citizenship experiences in ‘fragmented sovereignty scenarios’: two cases from Colombia

Abstract

This chapter shows some of the ways that 'fragmented sovereignties' arise on the part of actors who, through the use of violence, fight with the State for political, social and economic power, or share those powers with the State. It presents a brief review of a number of studies of the relation which exists among violence, social orders and citizens in scenarios of armed conflict, with a special emphasis on the Colombian context. The chapter deals directly with the cases under study through a description of the actors and forces set into play. It reveals a number of guidelines for an understanding of the complex paradox of citizenship and violence in the analysis of the Latin American experience. In the case of Magangue, the study included a series of interviews with members of social organisations. The chapter presents exercises of ethnographic observation and held informal conversations with the street sellers in Bogota.