Review of "Governing the Excluded: Rural Livelihoods Beyond Coca in Colombia's Peace Laboratory"

In May 2017, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos arrived in Briceño to officially launch Colombia’s coca substitution program, one of the key initiatives of the recently signed peace agreement with the leftist guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In his speech, Santos promised to expand the presence of the state through the construction of roads and schools, and to provide economic help “so that you [farmers] can permanently substitute coca for licit crops… Most people want to leave coca behind because they know it brings violence… [t]hey want a better future for their children, they want the state to come.” (p. 76). Has the landmark agreement lived up to these promises? How have the lives and livelihoods of Colombian farmers been impacted, and how has it transformed the relationships between rural communities and both state and non-state actors? Alex Diamond’s outstanding book, Governing the Excluded, is among the first book-length studies to answer these critical questions by foregrounding rural farmers’ perspectives and experiences.