Located in northern South America, Colombia borders Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador and has coasts facing both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The country is one of the most bio-diverse in Latin America, including the Amazon rainforest, Andes mountains and llanos plains. The Andes, together with the Cauca and Magdalena rivers, carve up the terrain, establishing the central cordillera region as the most populated heart of the country. The subsequent impenetrability of the landscape has left a legacy of regionalism that has continuously impeded centralised rule and the emergence of a national economy. The historical difficulty of communication both within the cordillera and between it and other regions has helped to forge one of Colombia’s most significant features - strong regional rather than national centres of power.[1] In pre-colonial times this physical division of the country also affected Colombia’s ethnic mix, limiting the development of a unified indigenous movement before the arrival of the conquistadores.

Today, the country has a population of over 40 million, and is divided into 32 departamentos and 1 distrito capital (Santa Fe de Bogota). Colombia is a republic dominated by the executive branch of government. The current head of government (and chief of state) is the crossbencher President Alvaro Uribe Vélez, elected by popular vote for the period from 2002 to 2006. Until now all presidents could only serve one term for four years, but under the government of Uribe it is tried to change the constitution in order to make reelection possible. The legislative branch consists of the Senado and Camara de Representantes, with all seats in the bicameral congress elected by popular vote for a term of four years.

A confusing collection of armed groups, together with a notorious illicit drugs trade, and a severe economic recession in 1999-2000, has helped Colombia gain a global reputation as a volatile country characterised by deeply entrenched violence. The following sections will attempt to clarify the current situation in Colombia by exploring both the historical, socio-political and economic background to contemporary conflict, as well as recent domestic and international interventions in the country.

[1] Colombia: Image and Reality, CIIR Comment series (March, 1992) p. 3