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A precarious peace? The threat of paramilitary violence to the peace process in Colombia

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  • David Maher
  • Andrew Thomson

Abstract

This article provides an investigation into claims that paramilitary violence in Colombia can pose a threat to the peace agreement signed in 2016 between the Colombian government and the FARC rebels. These claims highlight the capacity for paramilitary groups to ‘spoil’ the peace deal. Hitherto, however, there is a lack of scholarly research to investigate the potential of paramilitary spoiling. Firstly, this article highlights the flaws in the government’s perspective that paramilitarism no longer exists in Colombia. Instead, the government argues that Colombia is plagued by criminal bands (known as BACRIMs). Secondly, through fieldwork interviews and questionnaires conducted in FARC demobilisation camps, together with descriptive data analysed through a uniquely coded dataset on violence in western Colombia, this article supports claims that successor paramilitary groups represent a key spoiler threat to the current government-FARC peace process. On the one hand, the paramilitaries can represent a direct spoiler threat by, for instance, violently targeting demobilising FARC guerrillas. On the other hand, successor paramilitary groups represent a key indirect spoiler threat, as paramilitary violence is exacerbating the root causes of the conflict that the peace deal seeks to address, with negative implications for the prospects for peace.

Suggested Citation

  • David Maher & Andrew Thomson, 2018. "A precarious peace? The threat of paramilitary violence to the peace process in Colombia," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(11), pages 2142-2172, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:39:y:2018:i:11:p:2142-2172
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2018.1508992
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    Cited by:

    1. Siniša Vuković & Giovanna Maria Dora Dore & Guadalupe Paz, 2024. "Emerging trends in peacebuilding: The case of Colombia," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S3), pages 5-13, June.
    2. Nicole Stoelinga, 2024. "Cultivation and competition in Colombia: Disentangling the effects of coca price changes on violence," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(2), pages 1007-1042, March.
    3. Nelson, Phillip, 2023. "What’s in a name? Militias and the need for further systematic research," SocArXiv 2vcmf, Center for Open Science.
    4. Jacobo Grajales, 2020. "A land full of opportunities? Agrarian frontiers, policy narratives and the political economy of peace in Colombia," Post-Print hal-02553099, HAL.

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