ZIDRES Law: Emergent Normative Foundation of State Legitimacy in Rural Areas in Colombia

Abstract

This work builds off the observations of contemporary scholarship in the study of food security to explore its potential effects on the normative foundations of state legitimacy and rural governance. Today the concept of food security is different; states no longer need to primarily rely on domestic agricultural production to feed their population. Similarly, countries with available land for agriculture like Colombia are exposed to an increasing rush for land which is transforming the dynamics of rural governance. The article suggests that central government is willing to outsource governing functions in remote areas to private investors as long as they increase economic output, control populations and provide public goods. This finding has important implications for the post-conflict scenario in Colombia.

Keywords

• food security
• large-scale agricultura
• rural governance
• state-building