Transitioning From Conflict to Peace: The Case of Colombia

Session Submission Type: Virtual Full Paper Panel

Session Description

How can a nation effectively transition from civil conflict to a state of peace? The papers on this panel examine this question, utilizing the case of Colombia, where the government and largest rebel group in the country signed a peace agreement in 2016 after a half-century of war. However, stability still remains elusive in Colombia; not all guerrilla groups were party to the peace agreement, some demobilized fighters have remobilized, and so-called “criminal bands” continue operating. Furthermore, prominent politicians seek to revise and undermine the peace accord, and many Colombians likewise oppose the deal. In examining this precarious context of a country in transition, the papers on this panel focus on a range of stakeholders in the peace process: demobilized combatants, the public, civilian victims, rebel leaders, and governmental institutions. The first two papers on the panel focus on the attitudes of the public. Levy examines the role that perpetrator identity plays in shaping the public’s responses to accusations of violence against civilians. Matanock, García Sánchez, and Garbiras-Díaz study the role of spoilers in peace agreements, investigating whether high-level rebel defectors who return to war affect citizens’ attitudes toward peace, the government, and the rebels. Tellez and Villamizar Chaparro also focus on demobilized combatants, examining their prospects for economic, social, and psychological reintegration. Like Tellez and Villamizar Chaparro, Montoya considers government efforts to address the legacy of conflict. Montoya focuses on the effectiveness of the Colombian government’s enforcement of judicial orders protecting the land property rights of conflict victims.

Sub Unit

• Division 21: Conflict Processes

Individual Presentations

• Perpetrator Identity and Public Responses to Civilian Victimization - Gabriella Levy, Duke University

• Restoring the Rule of Law in the Aftermath of Civil War - ANA MARIA MONTOYA GARCIA, Duke University

• Spoiling Support for Peace Processes? - Aila M. Matanock, University of California-Berkeley; Natalia Garbiras-Díaz, European University Institute; Miguel Garcia-Sanchez

• From Combatants to Civilians: The Effects of DDR Programs on Combatant Well-Being - Juan Fernando Tellez, University of California, Davis; Mateo Villamizar Chaparro, Duke Univeristy

Chair

• Livia Isabella Schubiger Duke University

Discussants

• Ana M. Arjona Northwestern University

• Michael Lee Weintraub Universidad de los Andes