Colombia - The Entanglements of Peace

Colombia’s history is shaped by structural conflicts on land and participation producing armed violence most of all in peripheral and border regions. A comprehensive peace agreement was signed in 2016 with peacebuilding at the local level contingent upon the presence and combinations of structural factors (e.g. illegal economies, armed actors). Notions of peace highlight the importance of peace as respect, justice, and tranquillity.  But peacebuilding cannot be reduced to the Peace Agreement and its implementation. The Agreement provides a significant window of opportunity to make meaningful changes whose implementation depends on the political will and the agreement of political actors in Colombia and their international allies.