LibrelloJournal of Human Security1835-380015120190218Editorial 20191510.12924/johs2019.15010001ENSabinaLautensachEditor-in-Chief of the Journal of Human Security, Librello, Basel, Switzerland\\
Human Security Institute, Canada\\
University of Northern British Columbia, Terrace, BC, V8G 4A2, Canada. salaut@gmail.comjohs-15.1.12019020320190205As I write this, most of North America is enduring another polar vortex, with temperatures plummeting far below past averages, compromising the security of individuals in numerous ways. At the same time, the latest meeting of the world's most powerful decision makers in Davos just concluded with another letdown, a glaring absence of any productive or decisive consensus about the security problems confronting humanity and the rest of the planet.LibrelloJournal of Human Security1835-380015120190305Violent non-State Actors and New Forms of Governance: Exploring the Colombian and Venezuelan Border Zone61810.12924/johs2019.15010006ENRafaelDuarteVillaDepartment of Political Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. rafaelvi@usp.brMaríliaCarolinaSouza PimentaCenter for International Politics Research, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. profa.marilia.csouza@gmail.comjohs-15.1.62018052520181122This article explores the causes underlying a strong presence of violent non-state actors (VNSAs) in South America. Based on a case study of the border area between Colombia and Venezuela, the research relies on a broad empirical data collected from newspapers, official documents and interviews. The analytical perspective has been grounded on a theoretical framework of four dimensions: (i) funding and illegal activities, (ii) presence in strategic regions, (iii) low state presence and (iv) violence, which identifies different forms of presence of VNSAs. When questioned about how VNSAs create new forms of alternative governance in a territorial space of fragile statehood, the results tend to reveal a context in which state governance seems to overlap the alternative and illegal governance of VNSAs, creating a fragile and hybrid governance in the region.