Colombia Ethnic Land Restitution: Administrative and Judicial Records 2012-2018

This dataset tracks Colombia’s ethnic land restitution program from 2012 to 2018, focusing on the conflict between institutional reform and extractivism. Created by Laura García-Montoya for Perspectives on Politics, it aggregates administrative case data, judicial rulings, and 14 in-depth interviews. The records document how government agencies used discretionary implementation to mediate or undermine land reform mandates.

Use Cases

• Analyzing delays in administrative case processing to identify patterns of institutional layering
• Examining judicial rulings to measure the restriction of judicial discretion in land disputes
• Qualitative analysis of 14 interviews to test theories of institutional change and discretionary implementation

Strengths

• Includes 14 in-depth expert interviews providing qualitative context
• Covers a specific 6-year period of Colombian land reform implementation
• Combines administrative and judicial data sources for cross-verification

Limitations

• Geographically limited to Colombia
• Small qualitative sample size of 14 interviews
• Temporal coverage ends in 2018, potentially missing recent policy shifts

Provenance

Source

Perspectives on Politics, Laura García-Montoya

Collection Method

Process tracing of administrative and judicial records and 14 in-depth interviews

Time Range

2012-2018

Freshness

Data covers the period 2012-2018; last updated in 2026.

Geography

Colombia