Repertoires of Terrorism

Andreas E. Feldmann examines the disparate behavior of actors including guerrilla groups, state security forces, and paramilitaries during Colombia’s long and bloody civil war. Analyzing the varieties of violence in this conflict, he develops a new theory of the dynamics of terrorism in civil wars.

Andreas E. Feldmann is an associate professor in the Departments of Political Science and Latin American and Latino Studies and the principal investigator of the Global Immigration Cluster Initiative at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is coauthor of Criminal Politics and Botched Development in Contemporary Latin America (2023).

Alex P. Schmid, Distinguished Fellow, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), The Hague:
Andreas Feldmann's pioneering analysis of how terrorism is employed in Colombia's long-lasting civil war focuses not only on the FARC's and ELN's deliberate attacks on civilians but also studies the state's security forces and paramilitary groups seeking to preserve the status quo. He does so masterfully, covering all the complex interactions of state and nonstate actors. This book can serve as a model for a better understanding of other civil wars where political violence and organized crime have become enmeshed. Importantly, Feldmann's book also offers suggestions on how to diminish conditions of terrorist violence in internal conflicts.

Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame:
What explains the logic of terrorism in civil war? Feldmann shows that armed groups deploy terrorist tactics in line with organizational identities shaped by their history, ideology, leadership, and connections with organized crime. This is an impressive study of armed actors in the Colombian civil war, a tragedy that has displaced six million and killed half a million people.

Angélica Durán-Martínez, University of Massachusetts, Lowell:
Andreas Feldmann masterfully brings back ideology and organizational identity to theories on the use of terrorist tactics in civil wars. This book stands out for its detailed yet panoramic comparison of all armed actors, including state security forces, and it will become a crucial reference on Colombia’s war and on terrorist techniques.