Transboundary Mining, State Absence, and Multidimensional National Security: Reflections on the Peru-Ecuador Case

Abstract

Border areas in Peru are characterized by marked asymmetries in relation to neighboring countries. The limited presence of the State and geographic isolation severely affect local populations, as reflected in higher costs of living, high poverty rates, elevated levels of malnutrition, and the proliferation of illicit activities. Moreover, border regions exhibit the lowest levels of the Human Development Index and the State Density Index, posing significant risks to national security and territorial integrity. In this context, illegal cross-border mining between Peru and Ecuador has experienced sustained growth and has been identified in both the National Border Development and Integration Policy and the National Security and Defense Policy as an activity that increases criminality and threatens national security. Within the framework of the Border Policy, thirteen critical areas were identified, five of which are located along the Peru–Ecuador border, considered one of the country’s most critical border regions.