AFRO-COLOMBIAN AND INDIGENOUS SOCIAL MOVMEMENTS: INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCES, FRAMING TACTICS, AND STATE CONSTRUCTED IDENTITY

This thesis is a comparative analysis of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous social movements. It examines the intersection between political opportunity structure, international network influence, movement framing and identity construction. It also examines the ways in which indigenous and Afro-Colombian identities have been historically constructed by the state and subsequently contested by social movement actors. I argue that indigenous social movement success was possible due to the political opportunity structure of the Colombian National Constituent Assembly, supportive international networks, and effective framing tactics. Meanwhile Afro-Colombian groups did not have access to the National Constituent Assembly, did not have access to supportive international networks and framed their movement in a way which did not resonate with the majority of the Afro-Colombian population.