Rethinking International Development Cooperation from the perspective of neoinstitutionalism: Plan Colombia and its lessons

Abstract

International Development Cooperation in Colombia, beyond being represented as a transcendental foreign policy tool, becomes a channel of communication with other international actors whose main incentives for understanding are provided by the system itself. Hence, since the mid-twentieth century, the diverse range of social, economic and even political challenges faced by the governments of the time has generated a variety of interests vis-à-vis the international community. From this position and supported by the neoinstitutionalism of international relations, the present research seeks to elucidate from the study and analysis of different documents and strategies developed, how Colombia’s interaction, in this case with the United States, has been prolonged since its beginnings and at its height in the 1990s under Plan Colombia, due to a series of priorities assigned in government agendas and whose approach has meant an amalgamation of incentives at the same time. To this end, the first part will show the first signs of how Cooperation is rooted in the country’s actions and, immediately afterwards, the influence of its structuring by the United States. Finally, the importance of rethinking this channel of communication with such an old neighbour in the face of the challenges posed by the peace agreement with the FARC-EP.