Systems of Violence: The Political Economy of War and Peace in Colombia (Suny Series in Global Politics)

Rating:
Summary: Leaves to be desired
Review: Another attempt by an outside oberserver to understand conflicts that are peculiar to South America and its political culture. Accordingly, the analysis does not grasp the intenal dynamics and psychology of the conflict. This book leaves much to be desired.

Rating:
Summary: Good data, weak analysis...
Review: This book is worth perusing for students and academics who want to understand the various ways that Colombia's armed groups procure economic resources in order to fuel their struggles. However it does not do a sufficient job on the "greed versus grievance" debate, nor does it really encapsulate the importance of social movements or the effects of political inclusion and exclusion upon propelling groups to use non-democratic means in the first place. Some academics may find this book to be useful, especially those uninitiated to the Colombian conflict who study armed groups and security. Non-academics will find the book to be neither particularly interesting nor beneficial to understanding the complexity of the conflict...

Rating:
Summary: Good data, weak analysis...
Review: This book is worth perusing for students and academics who want to understand the various ways that Colombia's armed groups procure economic resources in order to fuel their struggles. However it does not do a sufficient job on the "greed versus grievance" debate, nor does it really encapsulate the importance of social movements or the effects of political inclusion and exclusion upon propelling groups to use non-democratic means in the first place. Some academics may find this book to be useful, especially those uninitiated to the Colombian conflict who study armed groups and security. Non-academics will find the book to be neither particularly interesting nor beneficial to understanding the complexity of the conflict...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a great piece of work! Good job Dr. Richani! Excellent! Excellent! I am looking forward for next book!