Event: Borderland Battles: Violence, Crime, and Governance at the Edges of Colombia’s War

Summary: Listen to an event which took place in the summer of 2019 at King's College London for the launch of the book "Borderland Battles: Violence, Crime, and Governance at the Edges of Colombia’s War" Annette Idler, University of Oxford discussed the findings of her new book, Borderland Battles: Violence, Crime, and Governance at the Edges of Colombia’s War, published by Oxford University Press. Borderland Battles is based on extensive fieldwork: more than 600 interviews in and on the Colombia-Venezuela and Colombia-Ecuador border regions. Applying a "borderland lens" to security dynamics, her focus has been on the convergence of armed conflict and organised crime in these regions: how groups compete for territorial control, how they cooperate, and how they fill governance gaps by playing roles that states normally do. Dr. Idler’s work offers a more holistic and nuanced understanding of “people-centered security” than has been available so far. It has also given her detailed knowledge of the Colombia-Venezuela border zone, which is suffering important consequences of Venezuela’s crisis. This event was co-hosted by the Latin America and Caribbean Centre (LSE) and the Conflict, Security and Development Research Group (KCL). Discussant: Professor Gareth Jones, Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Centre, LSE, was Chair: Dr Kieran Mitton, War Studies, KCL. Speaker: Dr Annette Idler is the Director of Studies of the Changing Character of War Centre, Senior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, and at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Dr Idler’s work focuses on the interface of conflict, security, and transnational organised crime. She has published numerous articles in the field of conflict and organised crime, advises governments and international organisations on these subjects, and is a regular expert for internationally renowned media outlets. Dr Idler holds a doctorate from the Department of International Development and St Antony's College, University of Oxford, an MA in International Relations from King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, and a double BA in German-Spanish Studies/International Politics from Complutense University Madrid, Spain, and Regensburg University, Germany.