Abstract EN:

The study´s time frame is 2002-3. How does the phenomenon of the forced transborder displacement of Colombian people to Sucumbíos (Ecuador) manifest itself? What is the social, economic and political impact among the displaced as well as the local (Ecuadorian) population? Are there basic elements of collective identity that influence its restructuring among the displaced and their livelihood strategies in the new milieu? The research uses two theoretical strands: one regarding international relations and the wider political arena; and sociological perspective focussing on livelihood patterns and a qualitative fieldwork method of observation, classification, comparison and analysis, selecting primary written sources and field interviews to collect fragments of life histories. The thesis concludes that: (a) the increase of the forced displacement phenomenon across the border is directly influenced by government policies derived from international plans in the context of the New World Order, and (b) the displaced are able to re-structure their collective identity in the new mileu on the basis of their strategy of self-recognition and recognition of the other, both expressed in social practices, with reference to their life paths and identifying the elements of the primary habitus.