Alex Diamond
Sociologist and ethnographer whose book Governing the Excluded examines rural livelihoods, coca substitution, and state formation in post-conflict Colombia based on multi-year fieldwork in Briseño.
Top 3 podcasts with Alex Diamond
Ranked by the Snipd community
Apr 6, 2026 • 1h 4min
Alex Diamond, "Governing the Excluded: Rural Livelihoods Beyond Coca in Colombia's Peace Laboratory" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Alex Diamond, a sociologist and long-term ethnographer of rural Colombia, explores life in Briceño. He traces how collapsing legal markets pushed farmers into coca, the tradeoffs of coca substitution, and how dams and mining reshape livelihoods. He also examines tangled authority—state programs, guerrilla power, and local politics—and why roads, jobs, and public projects become central to peace and survival.
Apr 6, 2026 • 1h 4min
Alex Diamond, "Governing the Excluded: Rural Livelihoods Beyond Coca in Colombia's Peace Laboratory" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Alex Diamond, sociologist and ethnographer who studied rural Colombia, discusses life in Briceño and the aftermath of peace. He traces how coffee’s decline pushed farmers into coca, how coca substitution made villagers dependent on the state, and how dams, mining, and local politics reshape livelihoods. He also explores how shifting economies affect recruitment to rearmed groups and previews research on cannabis legalization.
Apr 6, 2026 • 1h 4min
Alex Diamond, "Governing the Excluded: Rural Livelihoods Beyond Coca in Colombia's Peace Laboratory" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Alex Diamond, sociologist and ethnographer who lived years in Briceño, explores rural livelihoods, coca substitution, and state formation in post-conflict Colombia. He discusses how peace investments reshaped local economies and authority. Topics include why coca replaced coffee, how substitution programs create state dependency, contested extractivism (dams and mining), and the tangled relations between armed groups and municipal power.
