Trust in the Colombian State: Persistence Amid Governance Gaps in Conflict-Affected Areas

November 17, 2025 - Written by Anna Marinovich

Introduction: The Paradox of Trust in a Fragile State 

Across centuries of political thought, the idea of the social contract has shaped how citizens understand their relationship with authority, a reciprocal exchange of freedoms for protection and order. Yet in many contexts, this reciprocity has faltered. States with weak capacity often fail to deliver basic services or even become agents of violence. Despite this, citizens’ trust and identification with such states frequently endure. This paradox raises a fundamental question: how can legitimacy persist where the state has historically failed to govern effectively? 

Colombia offers a striking example. After more than sixty years of internal conflict, the Colombian state continues to contend with fragmented authority, entrenched illicit economies, and persistent inequality. The 2016 Havana Accords with the FARC marked a formal step toward peace, yet reconstruction has been uneven, especially in rural, Afro-Colombian, and Indigenous areas where governance remains weak. Paradoxically, survey data from the Observatorio de la Democracia show that trust in national institutions is highest in these very regions, while it is lower in urban centres such as Bogotá and Cali. 

This counterintuitive pattern challenges conventional assumptions that legitimacy stems from state performance and service delivery. Existing explanations point to “expectation gaps”: citizens in under-governed areas may sustain trust because they expect less from the state. However, this view overlooks the deeper social and symbolic mechanisms that reinforce legitimacy under conditions of fragility. 

This report argues that the Colombian state maintains authority in low-capacity regions through symbolic legitimacy, the projection of presence and inclusion through selective, performative interventions such as infrastructure inaugurations, reconciliation ceremonies, and education initiatives. These gestures foster a perception of national continuity and rightful authority, even where material governance remains limited. 

By examining Colombia’s Andean-Pacific region, encompassing Nariño, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, and Chocó, this report explores how the state sustains trust through symbolic and aspirational means. Understanding this dynamic reveals how legitimacy can endure under weak governance, not only in Colombia, but across fragile and post-conflict states worldwide. 

Historical and Structural Context 

The endurance of trust in Colombia’s peripheries cannot be understood without reference to the country’s long history of political violence and fragmented governance. Since La Violencia (1948–1958), violence has functioned as both a political and territorial instrument, used by state and non-state actors alike to secure authority. Successive governments, confronted with guerrilla insurgencies and organised crime, have relied heavily on militarisation, exclusionary policies, and external assistance to maintain order. The introduction of U.S.-backed initiatives such as Plan Colombia in the early 2000s displaced coca cultivation and armed activity into the Andean-Pacific, further embedding patterns of coercion and criminal governance. 

This region, comprised of Nariño, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, and Chocó, has long been shaped by overlapping systems of authority in which guerrilla, paramilitary, and criminal organizations provide limited governance and social order in the absence of state institutions. Post-conflict reconstruction following the 2016 Havana Accords has been uneven, leaving many Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities with minimal access to justice, infrastructure, or basic services. Despite this, perceptions of the state as legitimate and trustworthy persist, suggesting that legitimacy in Colombia is grounded in more than administrative capacity alone. 

The Havana Accords in 2016, where a ceasefire was announced and signed between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP). Credits: https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/06/532962

Hybrid Governance and Symbolic Statecraft 

In areas of weak institutional control, legitimacy is negotiated between formal and informal governance systems. Non-state armed groups, including dissident FARC factions and paramilitaries, have established parallel systems of rule that regulate local economies, enforce order, and mediate disputes. Their authority is often transactional and coercive, sustained by economic dependency and fear rather than consent. 

The Colombian state, by contrast, maintains what might be termed symbolic legitimacy, a form of authority derived from visibility, recognition, and aspiration rather than consistent performance. Through highly publicised infrastructure projects, reconciliation ceremonies, and education programs, the state projects an image of inclusion and progress that resonates deeply with communities historically excluded from national narratives. These symbolic gestures sustain the idea of the nation as an enduring and cohesive entity, even where the state’s material presence remains minimal. The result is a hybrid political order in which both state and non-state actors compete for legitimacy, each employing distinct strategies of recognition and authority. 

A member of the Carlos Patino front of the dissident FARC guerrilla is pictured in Micay Canyon, a mountainous area and EMC stronghold in Cauca Department, southwestern Colombia, on March 24, 2024. AFP PIC

Mechanisms Sustaining Trust 

Existing scholarship often attributes persistent trust under weak governance to what Nussio and colleagues describe as “expectation gaps”, a phenomenon in which citizens with low expectations of state performance remain satisfied with limited engagement. While expectation management undoubtedly plays a role, this report suggests a more complex mechanism rooted in symbolic and aspirational politics. 

In Colombia’s Andean-Pacific, trust endures because the state successfully projects the promise of future inclusion. Selective acts of visibility, such as inaugurating new schools, organising peacebuilding events, or announcing development programs, reinforce the perception that the state cares, listens, and intends to deliver. Even when such promises remain unfulfilled, they sustain emotional and psychological identification with national institutions. In this way, the Colombian state maintains legitimacy not through its functionality but through the belief in eventual participation in the national project. 

Governance Ecosystem and Stakeholders 

Governance in the Andean-Pacific region operates within a complex constellation of actors whose authority overlaps and intersects. The Colombian government retains ultimate symbolic authority through national discourse, selective interventions, and state-building initiatives. Regional and municipal administrations act as intermediaries but often lack the resources or security to provide consistent services. Non-state armed groups continue to exert coercive control in many rural areas, particularly those tied to coca cultivation or illicit trade routes. 

Civil society organizations and local NGOs play a crucial mediating role, linking communities to external aid, development programs, and transitional justice mechanisms. International actors, including multilateral donors and foreign governments, shape post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding priorities. Together, these actors form a fragmented governance ecosystem in which legitimacy is negotiated daily through both symbolic performance and material action. 

Military, Economic, and Social Dimensions 

The Andean-Pacific’s post-conflict reality remains defined by competing claims to authority. Militarily, dissident guerrilla groups, paramilitary successors, and organized criminal networks continue to contest territorial control, undermining the reach of state institutions. Economically, the prevalence of illicit trade and resource extraction sustains shadow markets that both finance armed activity and entrench dependency on non-state actors. Socially, the region’s communities experience chronic insecurity, displacement, and poverty. Initiatives in education, healthcare, and reconciliation, though limited, have become powerful symbols of state presence. They serve as visible reminders of national inclusion, even when practical outcomes remain constrained. These military, economic, and social dynamics reveal how Colombia’s stability in the Andean-Pacific rests on a fragile balance between coercive control, symbolic legitimacy, and aspirational governance. 

Opportunities and Risks 

Recognising the coexistence of symbolic and material governance presents both opportunities and risks for policymakers. On the one hand, understanding symbolic authority offers new insight into how states maintain resilience under conditions of low capacity. Leveraging this form of legitimacy could help design peacebuilding strategies that gradually translate perception into performance. 

On the other hand, overreliance on symbolic gestures risks deepening structural inequalities. Public ceremonies, infrastructure announcements, or education campaigns that lack sustained follow-through may create the illusion of progress while leaving underlying grievances unresolved.

Moreover, as communities increasingly recognise the symbolic strategies employed by the state, armed groups may mimic them to bolster their own legitimacy, further blurring distinctions between governance and coercion. Managing the balance between symbolic authority and substantive inclusion is thus central to Colombia’s long-term stability. 

Policy Implications 

Efforts to strengthen governance and legitimacy in Colombia’s conflict-affected regions must build upon the trust that already exists while ensuring it is grounded in tangible improvements to daily life. Symbolic initiatives should be systematically paired with material investment in infrastructure, education, and social protection. Local participation must be prioritised to ensure that state programs respond to community needs rather than replicating top-down approaches. 

Regional differentiation is essential: the governance challenges of Nariño differ from those of Chocó or Cauca, and policy responses must reflect these variations. International donors and development partners should also align their strategies with this framework, emphasising the integration of symbolic legitimacy into broader structural reform. Only by bridging the gap between perception and performance can Colombia transform symbolic trust into enduring institutional legitimacy. 

Conclusion: Symbolic Power and Fragile Legitimacy 

The persistence of institutional trust in Colombia’s Andean-Pacific region demonstrates that legitimacy can endure even in the absence of consistent governance. Symbolic authority, anchored in national rituals, selective inclusion, and the projection of state presence, has allowed the Colombian state to sustain the perception of legitimacy amid fragmentation and violence. 

Yet, this symbolic resilience is fragile. It provides short-term stability but cannot substitute for substantive reform. The Colombian case underscores a broader truth observable across other fragile and post-conflict settings, from Myanmar to the Sahel, where national rhetoric and symbolic governance mask deeper institutional weaknesses. The challenge for Colombia, and for states in similar conditions, is to transform the symbolic recognition of citizenship into material inclusion and accountability. 

Ultimately, the endurance of trust under weak governance reveals both the adaptability and the limitations of state legitimacy. Understanding how symbolic and substantive authority interact offers crucial insight for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to strengthen the foundations of peace and governance in fragile states.

Written by Anna Marinovich

Analyst and contributor to the LATAM & Caribbean Research Desk