State abandonment and territorial citizenship in rural Colombia: Montes de María after the peace accords

Abstract

AbstractDrawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Montes de María, Colombia, I examine citizen‐state relationships and experiences of the state in rural communities during the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. I focus on the participatory process that led to the formulation of the Development Plans with a Territorial Focus (PDET) and their early implementation. I argue that state abandonment is a relevant conceptual lens through which to understand experiences of the state and the effects of some policies and state practices in reproducing the limited access to rights and the precarious living conditions at the heart of state interventions in rural areas. I also suggest that forms of territorial citizenship promoted by the peace accords provide opportunities to improve access to rights and contest state abandonment but also face challenges related to existing state practices and power relationships operating in rural territories. I distinguish state abandonment from state absence. By analysing how state abandonment can be produced at the heart of state interventions, this article expands anthropological debates about contemporary forms of state and social abandonment. The analysis of forms of territorial citizenship contributes to the understanding of claims‐making and participation in decision‐making structured around territory.