Shared Sovereignties and Criminal Governances in the Context of the Pandemic in Colombia

Abstract

AbstractThe Covid-19 pandemic led to a process of social isolation, but this does not appear to have applied to criminal organisations in Colombia. On the contrary, they had opportunities to strengthen and demonstrate capacities to coexist with the state. So, how were shared sovereignties and criminal governances configured during Covid-19 in Colombia? Through an ethnography of digital narratives and the construction of a model of governance types, we found that the political model of shared sovereignty and criminal governance was strengthened in the context of the pandemic, allowing legal and illegal actors to accept a mutually beneficial –but painful– draw, to control their areas of social influence and territorial control.