ABSTRACT
Keeping in mind that 'security' has a material and ideational dimension, insecurities are created when policy responses involve only one of the two dimensions. This chapter begins with a review of the historical roots of the current political situation in Colombia and how US policy has developed to manage the security concerns that have emerged over the decades. The political constructivist viewpoint that has been developed here attempts to link the issue of domestic political culture with state and (realist) concerns over the international drug trade. By balancing the two issues, it is hoped that a more comprehensive analysis can emerge. If the brief history of Colombia and the corresponding US security policies created to manage it suggest anything, it is that further analysis is required in order to understand and critique the current 'drug war'. The chapter explores how realism might be employed to analyze this war on drugs.
