Fractured hegemony: the State in Colombia, a process in redefinition

Abstract

This article reemphasizes the significance of Gramsci as a new thinker of democracy in the contextof Colombia. The democratic system in this country is under a permanent state of emergency, affected by high levels of violence, insurgencies and a refractory culture. In addition, this paper isaimed at understanding the dysfunction of the State and its inability to build hegemony, highlightinga process of co-optation by mafia groups and drug traffickers. The State relies on its power to undermine the opposition, imposes repressive policies, and wipes out resistance and social protest. Moreover, this paper discusses the fragmentation, instrumentation, cooptation in civil society, anddeals with the problems of a torn social fabric, violence, social displacement and loss of privacy. And in turn, it analyzes civil society and social movements at the street level.