Abstract

MOLINA CORREA, Javier Alexander  and  VARGAS VELAZQUEZ, Sergio. The Conflict Maturity Process: Why Was A Peace Agreement Signed with FARC in Colombia?. Rev. pueblos front. digit. [online]. 2022, vol.17, e575.  Epub Mar 21, 2023. ISSN 1870-4115.  https://doi.org/10.22201/cimsur.18704115e.2022.v17.575.

This paper analyzes the signing of the peace agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC by its acronym in Spanish) and the Colombian government in 2016 based on the construction of an analytical framework combining Christopher Mitchell’s conflict maturity models and the favorable and hindering aspects of the peace negotiation. In order to understand the achievements, errors, and lessons learned, this paper reviews previous negotiations between the guerrilla and earlier administrations that did not lead to signing a peace agreement in the twentieth century. Aiming to expand the explanatory potential of the concept of conflict maturity, this paper analyzes Juan Manuel Santos’s administration within a scenario that brings together factors pertaining to structure and agency. It concludes that the maturity of the conflict in Colombia is a process that goes beyond the version that claims that the insurgency suffered a military defeat and comes closer to a strategic leveling that saw the signing of a peace agreement as an opportunity to reach the goals held by the main stakeholders at war and respond, at least in part, to their interests.

Keywords : peace agreements; conflict maturity; peace negotiations; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

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