ABSTRACT
Colombia’s distinctive traits compared to the general South American pattern can be seen in the low incidence of coups and military governments. Throughout national history, the Colombian military have not overstepped the general limits established by civil power but have had sufficient negotiating power and political influence to achieve relative autonomies in the management of the institution itself and that of public order. There is another reason behind the difference between the situation in Colombia and that in most other countries in the region, namely, the heavy burden of the decades-long internal armed conflict and new phenomena that exacerbate this problem: the revolutionary guerrillas, paramilitary groups and organised crime with financial influence, an international scope and the capacity to challenge the state, especially relating to drug trafficking, ubiquitous in the last 50 years. This has impacted the armed forces in their relationship with rural communities, in their handling of the domestic conflict and in the impact of drug trafficking. While progress has been made in subordinating military action to civil control, the military still have the tendency to close in on themselves and to maintain a lack of transparency that works against their own interests.
