The neorealist approach to institutional change (Amable & Palombarini, 2009) has the merits of first emphasizing the importance of the Dominant Social Bloc (DSB) in institutional building and institutional change, and second of integrating the economic, social, and political spheres in the explanation of the formation and breakdown of the DSB. This paper presents the first theoretical adaptation of the neorealist approach to a Latin American peripheral country: Colombia. Thus, particular dynamics of the country such as economic dependence, an illegal economy and armed conflict are incorporated in the initial approach. This enlarged framework will allow grasping the role of crime and violence in granting political stability to an accumulation regime that satisfies the demands of a narrow DSB.