Abstract
Although civilians across the globe are fleeing conflict in record numbers, the reality is that far more remain behind. In addition to traditional wars, people stay in territories governed by criminal organizations. How might individuals threatened with displacement by a criminal gang manage to resist? Drawing on intensive participant observation and interviews in marginal neighborhoods of Medellín, Colombia, I argue that the urban residents most likely to remain despite being at risk of displacement are the “well connected.” Despite threats, they leverage ties to a community figure or member of the armed group to stay. I test a number of related hypotheses using an original survey and survey experiment. Unlike other work stressing that residents are trapped by scant resources or remain only by joining local associations or belligerents, my theory reveals residents’ agency and neutrality as they seek safety and security in conditions of state absence.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
