A New Dawn for Colombia? Between post-conflict and non-conflict violence

• In Event: La Construcción de la Paz en Colombia: Avances y Retos / Building Peace in Colombia: Advances and Challenges

Abstract

As momentum builds towards a potential peace agreement between the Colombian state and guerrilla groups, principally the FARC, understandably scholars are turning their attention to the multiple post-conflict challenges of reducing violence and building peace. This paper defines 'post-conflict' and 'non-conflict' armed violence, arguing that the latter is, and has been for sometime, the major source of lethal violence in Colombia. Therefore as both Colombian and international community efforts gear up for post-conflict interventions and assistance, it is important not to lose sight of the 'non-conflict' criminal and social violences that shape Colombia's broader topography of insecurity.

Author

• Adam D Baird, FLACSO, Ecuador