Love in War? Girlfriends, Romance, and Strategic Amorous Relationships in Colombia’s Armed Conflict

This research examines amorous relationships and strategic coupling in different wartime contexts and from different perspectives during Colombia’s armed conflict. It first looks at why civilian women in armed conflict situations acceded to or initiated amorous relationships with armed actors. By exploring their different reasons and strategies for “strategic coupling”, the project contributes to academic literature on gendered civilian agency in war, supporting the idea that women in conflict zones are actively engaged individuals (as opposed to passive victims). Put differently, this bottom-up approach empowers local civilians by looking at the ways in which they are directly involved in their own protection, and frequently also that of their families. The project then studies amorous relationships from the perspective of Colombian armed actors (AUC paramilitaries, the FARC, and the ELN). By focusing on the motivations of armed actors, it reveals and explores how combatants strategically developed amorous relationships with local civilians to achieve broader wartime objectives. Through this dual focus on civilians and combatant motivations, the project develops a unique and systematic analysis on the strategic utility of attraction and amorous relationships in war.