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The periods of recurring crisis reveal strengths and great weaknesses in the capacities that institutions have to face them. This article presents the results of the research on the response of the governmental authorities of the department of Santander in Colombia to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to show the degrees of multilevel articulation, the effectiveness and forms of governmental leadership in contingency situations. The fieldwork resorted to the Institutional Capacity Analysis System (Sadci) methodology, which allows the study of disruptive phenomena, whose institutional response capacity to face them involves both the administrative and political factors, and implies analysis of multidimensionality and integration of policies. To do this, it reviews the multilevel institutional flexibility, the ability to adapt and reinvent itself to respond to this type of situations that question the foundations of the state and its governments, as well as their capacity to respond promptly and adequately to citizen demands The results show that, in predominantly presidential systems such as Colombia, the central role of institutional response is concentrated in the head of state and his cabinet, and thus the degree of response to crises at the subnational level is directly related to the level of autonomy that their governments have, with the innovation in the midst of difficulties and with the types of leadership exercised by their leaders, especially in smaller municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper studies attempts to political integration made in Northeastern Antioquia by political leaders in the first half of the 19th century. It argues that the attempt to extend centralization networks led by political leaders In order to Implement greater social, political, and administrative control was hindered by mayors and other local officials, as well as by those interested In preserving certain liberties In order to protect individual interests. These conflicts, when framed within the institutional structure, show simultaneously the expansion of the State and the persistence of the factors which limited its local establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exercising local government in some municipalities in Colombia can be a challenge as it takes place in a context of armed conflict that complicates, hinders or restrains government action. In recent decades, the intensity of the armed conflict in Colombia has increased, due in part to the change in strategy and the pugnacious fight for the control of the local level that gives significant dividends. The action of armed groups in municipalities is part of an unfortunate general situation in Colombia's history. One of the interests of this study is to show the evolution of the interference of armed groups in the public administration, but also in the social structure. In order to accomplish this objective, the first part adresses the context in which governance takes place. Subsequently, the concept of governance is analyzed taking into account the conflict scenario. Finally, I discuss the importance of municipalities for illegal armed groups, assuming as starting point the political and administrative decentralization process undertook during the early nineties [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, significant changes in the forms of Government have occurred in Colombia, as a consequence of many different institution related factors, inter alia the availability of new tools for civil society's participation, decentralization and political parties' reform. These factors have redefined activities and relationships of local Government's actors, among themselves, the councilpersons. From the governance standpoint, this paper aims to lead to a better understanding of councilpersons and their relationships with other stakeholders that are also people's representatives: public and private organizations. Availability of empirical data on this subject is very limited in this country, and the city of Medellin is a case in point. Based on the identified trends (cooperation, mediation, competition and lack of relationship), the article highlights the prevalence of cooperative relations and concludes that the principles of "positive" governance (plurality, interdependence and cooperation in management), are tempered by several factors, including political and institutional changes and the characteristics, motivations and strategies of the actors involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exercising local government in some municipalities in Colombia can be a challenge as it takes place in a context of armed conflict that complicates, hinders or restrains government action. In recent decades, the intensity of the armed conflict in Colombia has increased, due in part to the change in strategy and the pugnacious fight for the control of the local level that gives significant dividends. The action of armed groups in municipalities is part of an unfortunate general situation in Colombia's history. One of the interests of this study is to show the evolution of the interference of armed groups in the public administration, but also in the social structure. In order to accomplish this objective, the first part adresses the context in which governance takes place. Subsequently, the concept of governance is analyzed taking into account the conflict scenario. Finally, I discuss the importance of municipalities for illegal armed groups, assuming as starting point the political and administrative decentralization process undertook during the early nineties [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]