UC Santa Cruz

The dissertation examines the dynamics of conflict-induced internal displacement on the urban integration and citizenship of peasants in Medellín, Colombia. Using this case study of displacement in Colombia—which has the largest population of internally displaced persons in the world—my dissertation fills in a gap in the migration literature that does not adequately address internal and forced migration. It also goes beyond viewing displacement as a single event, analyzing it instead as a life-long process that constitutes what I call the Life-Cycle of Forced Migration. My broader analysis of migration links displacement, resettlement, integration, and community-building, providing a multistage understanding of the processes of citizenship and belonging. The research utilizes mixed-methods for gathering data, drawing from ethnographic interviews and surveys with rural internally displaced persons, as well as interviews with representatives of government agencies and NGOs, to answer: How does a group of migrants become non-citizens despite not crossing borders, not losing formal citizenship, and not losing national identity? I find that even after having resettled for two decades in Medellín, people still identify as “displaced” due to differential inclusion, which negatively affects their sense and practice of citizenship, a form of Segmented Citizenship. I define Segmented Citizenship as a new social status, within a spectrum of non-belonging, that is both inclusionary and exclusionary; where citizens have claims to formal rights, yet are limited from practicing these rights fully. I argue that Segmented Citizenship changes the displaced into Partial Citizens due to inadequate state aid and attention, stigma from state actors and the receiving community, stagnation in informal employment, segregation in informal settlements, and the displaced’s own subjective experiences with violence and trauma. However, by highlighting the lives of displaced community leaders, the thesis shows how Displaced Consciousness— a new affective awareness which results from displacement—is used as a tool for building solidarity with other displaced peasants and defending their Right to the Territory in the peripheries of the city. Ultimately, I contend that this research demonstrates the limits of integration and national citizenship, offering a more nuanced lens for examining citizenship as a spectrum, pushing us to examine belonging beyond a binary category of citizen/non-citizen; included and excluded.