Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Effect of Political Reform on Rural Social Conflict in Colombia

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9401114 Evans This is an award under the Grants for Improving Doctoral Dissertation Research Program. The study will examine the effect of political reform on rural social conflict in Columbia. During the past decade, Columbia has presented contradictory trends toward democratizing reform and escalating political violence, a paradox that defies the predictions of prevailing theories of democratic transition and guerrilla movements. New theories suggest that elite-sponsored violence may escalate in reaction to increased peasant control over rural institutions, or that in some cases more representative institutions can now mediate peaceful, institutional resolutions to conflicts. This research will study the effect of a specific reform, allowing the direct election of county executives, on several rural conflicts. The four stages of the investigation will focus on: 1) the national context of violent democratization, 2) the causes of rural social conflict, 3) the effect of reform on these conflicts, and 4) the mechanisms accounting for these effects. %%% This research will contribute to political sociology and to the sociology of development. The key international issues for policy makers today revolve around the success or failure of various routes to democratization, so the findings of the study should have substantive significance. In addition to the scientific gains to be achieved by the research, this award will materially assist a highly promising student in completing research for the Ph.D. dissertation. Thus it contributes to the future scientific manpower of the nation and the thorough training of the next generation of social scientists. ***