Hacia una ecología política de las fronterasel caso de Esmeraldas en Ecuador

Abstract

Borders have changed their meaning. The borders have been reassigned. Several studies that have been carried out in the last decade show the importance they have acquired. This thesis follows that trend but it may be distinguished as it focuses on the study of a border that is fundamentally known for the Colombian conflict and its repercussions in neighboring countries: the northern Ecuadorian border of the province of Esmeraldas, located in the western end of Ecuador adjacent to Colombia and the Pacific. Although the present thesis examines the effects of the Colombian conflict on this border territory, its emphasis is to understand the meaning and guidance of policies oriented to promote the integration of Esmeraldas into its political container, the Ecuadorian State. This approach strives to generate an interpretive and analytical framework to understand the dynamics aroused in the incorporation of border areas that historically have fallen behind and remained forgotten and subalternized. Hence the title of the thesis, “Towards a political ecology of borders. The case of Esmeraldas in Ecuador”...