The Theater of War in Colombia

• In Event: Márgenes, violencia y narrativa

Abstract

The Colombian government, like many governments around the world, has found it necessary to draw a clear line that distinguishes rebel from criminal. This distinction locates people who have acted outside the law in a specific sphere of legitimacy, and grants or withdraws certain privileges. This dividing line is foundational, among other things, to the current peace negotiations in Colombia. The benefits resulting from an agreement, should one be finalized, will be awarded to former rebels but not to criminals. In practice, however, the line separating rebel from criminal in Colombia is often blurred—as is the line distinguishing rebels and criminals from everyone else. The work of ethnographers, and others involved in the compilation of testimonials from the areas where the war is active, show how people whom the government considers to be either rebel or criminal don’t always see themselves as one or the other. In a different type of work, writers and filmmakers have explored the grey areas of this distinction, in stories that portray people who do not strictly fit into one or another category. By examining the complications posed to the distinction between rebel and criminal in a select number of examples taken from ethnographies, testimonials, and works of fiction, this paper aims to draw out implications for what is now (wishfully) called the “postconflicto” in Colombia.

Authors

• Maria Helena Rueda, Smith College

• Frederic C Schaffer, University of Massachusetts Amherst