La crisis colombiana y Perú

This article analyzes Peruvian foreign and security policies regarding the Colombian conflict in the context of the discourses on securitization emerging in the region in the late twentieth century. Specifically, it compares the governments of Fujimori and Toledo to argue that, in spite of their differences in political genealogy (authoritarian and democratic, respectively), both governments have responded to the Colombian crisis in similar ways by following U.S. security discourses regarding the “war on drugs” and the “global war on terrorism”. However, while Fujimori attempted to mobilize the Colombian conflict as part of his strategy to remain in power for an unconstitutional third term, Toledo has used it to assure the survival of his constitutional mandate.