Beyond Besieged Democracy in Colombia

• In Event: The Survival of Defective Democracies in the Andes

Abstract

The final paper, “Beyond Besieged Democracy in Colombia,” by Jan Boesten, examines a defective democracy besieged by non-state armed actors seeking to corrupt the nation’s deliberative and electoral institutions. Faced with the threats, President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010), appeared poised to succumb to the lure of plebiscitary majoritarianism. However, the Constitutional Court rejected Uribe’s bid to prolong his presidency through constitutional reform precisely on the basis that it violated the assumed fairness between incumbents and opposition on the political playing field, damaged the plurality of the democratic will, and was inconsistent with implicit constitutional values like the separation of powers. Analyzing developments since 2010, especially the negotiation of a Peace Accord, this paper argues that the 2018 elections are a critical juncture: will Colombia continue to evolve toward full democracy or relapse into a defective democracy, or worse?

Author

• Jan Boesten