State capacity effects of alliances between politicians and militias in civil wars: evidence from Colombia

Abstract

In this study I discuss how the type of control exerted by militia groups during armed conflicts have different effects on state capacity building. Drawing on recent literature trying to explain the behavior of irregular armed groups amidst conflict, I focus on how political alliances between politicians and pro-state militias have an impact on local capacity building. I study the case of ‘parapolitics’ in Colombia, and find that political alliances have negative effects on state capacity when militias have short time horizons, and that this negative effect is even stronger in municipalities with lower initial local capacity.