Visual representation of Liliana Duica-Amaya

Expertise

  • Conflict Analysis
  • Environment
  • Property
  • War and the Environment

Link

GU360 Profile

Liliana Duica-Amaya

Adjunct Professor - Center for Latin American Studies

Liliana Duica Amaya is a Colombian national with expertise in conflict, environment, and development. She works as a researcher, professor, and consultant for organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, USAID, GICHD, EY. 

Duica Amaya began her career analyzing patterns of land dispossession by Colombia's illegal armed actors and conducting fieldwork along the borders with Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. She supported the implementation of post conflict policies on land titling, rural development and state building in challenging ecological contexts in the Colombia’s Pacific, Caribbean, and Amazon regions. She assessed the main human rights challenges in Colombian departments heavily affected by coca crops and drug trafficking and main violence challenges for vulnerable claimants of dispossessed territories within restitution processes. Furthermore, she has conducted studies identifying patterns used by illegal armed actors to seize and grab lands, including the use of cattle, woods, palms, and other kinds of agriculture and livestock, which also drive deforestation

Her doctoral research called Landmined Landscapes: the technological, environmental and social life of artifacts analyzed the cunning strategies of guerrillas on blending the landmines into the environment. As a result of this work, Duica Amaya has published articles about war ecologies within insurgent organizations, the weaponization of nature, the influence of Vietnamese traditions in Latin American guerrillas, and is a strong advocate for improving the knowledge on landmine contamination in communities affected by these artifacts.

Duica Amaya received a BA in Political Science and Government from El Rosario University; a MA in Political Science, MA in Geography a MA in Anthropology from Los Andes University; and a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Los Andes. She also studied Human Rights, in Sweden, Cambodia and Korea. Currently, Duica Amaya is professor in the MA in CLAS-SFS and in the Department of Anthropology.

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This Fall 2025 Unlock the Power of Qualitative Research! LASP 7605-01

Ready to Make Your Research Matter? Enroll Today!

Are you ready to go beyond textbooks and dive into real-world research? Join our hands-on seminar and master the art of applied qualitative research-from creative design to high-impact deliverables!

Why Take This Seminar?

  • Interactive Learning: Engage in creative exercises, real-world case studies, and collaborative projects.
  • Skill-Building: Gain practical experience with tools and software used by professional researchers.
  • Career-Ready: Build a portfolio of research skills that stand out in graduate school and beyond.

Send me an email if you have any doubt: lda52@georgetown.edu 

We will meet Wednesdays 02:00 PM - 04:30 PM

Profesor Liliana Duica-Amaya: lda52@georgetown.edu