The Naming and Framing of the March 2008 Colombia-Ecuador Border Dispute in an Arena of Contested Power: Terroristas Tenebrosos, Mafiosos and Imperialistas

Abstract

This is a discursive analysis of the competing representations of the violent events of March 1st, 2008 when the Colombian government bombed a FARC camp inside Ecuadorian territory. The two competing discourses, of the Colombian government and the Venezuelan government will be analyzed in the larger context of the struggle for hegemonic dominance and the power to represent and define of reality. This paper argues that the Colombian government has structurated the legitimate state use of violence through their use of the war on terror discourse that is rooted in the larger hegemonic system supporting interventionism and human security. The Venezuelan government is attempting to counter this structuration, through their own counter-discourse that is embedded in the larger ‘new left’ discourse that is gaining influence in the region. Both governments utilize the events of March 1st to further their ideological and political interests in the region.