Can violence be rational? An empirical analysis of Colombia.

Colombia is neither waging war against external enemies, nor has a dictatorial government engaged in a large scale repression of insurrection. However, it is possibly the most violent country of the world. Despite a number of papers focusing on the effects of violence on democracy in Colombia, the existing literature fails to sufficiently address the opposite perspective, that is, the impact of democratic government on violence. Recourse to violence appears so widespread and permanent in Colombia and extols such a high cost on the country, that it suggests that large sectors of the Colombian population may have become addicted to violence. The aim of this paper to assess whether violence in Colombia may be defined as a rational behaviour by using a pooled cross-section and time-series sample of 27 Colombian departments over the period 1990-1999. Findings do not support the addictive rational hypothesis; rather, violence appears to be a cyclical phenomenon in Colombia.