Drug-trafficking in Colombia has been a widely researched phenomenon, especially now, as the country undergoes a transition process with its older guerrilla. Now more than ever it is fundamental to examine how drug-trafficking organizations violent activities affect the consolidation of peace. This article considers different approaches to study violence derived from drug-trafficking, in order to advance towards the objectives of transitional justice. For that matter, this work is based on the idea that drug-trafficking directly generates and reproduces violence which is fueled by the structural violence present in the Colombian context. My thesis is that this phenomenon deters non-repetition guarantees and weakens democracy, which is why there will be three main arguments presented that will revolve around the lack of consensus and the implications of considering drug wars as civil wars, how decisions related to the conceptual apprehension limit the competence of international humanitarian law, and the need for holistic strategies capable of facing drug-trafficking’s political and violent power. Later, alternatives will be explored around the possibilities that each argument offers, as well as which aspects could contribute to a more appropriate approach to combat drug-trafficking. Lastly, I will defend why implementing bottom-up oriented actions can advance towards transitional justice’s intermediate and final objectives, as it is the only alternative that escapes fatalist, utopian or interventionist scenarios.
The present article is the second of a three-series collection of articles that analyze the power of language to introduce a new set of concepts in contexts where societies can foster peacebuilding in post-conflict scenarios. I build up on Hannah Arendt’s moral responsibility work to understand the need to analyze responsibility in transitional justice frameworks while landing it on peacebuilding discussions. The article advances in how this concept can contribute to fostering recognition, the role it plays in [re]building civic trust and, ultimately, promoting reconciliation. This study is motivated to find a way to engage civil society in the process where social grounds are rethought on respect as a basis. I present a proposal to use the concept of responsibility while suggesting a definition circumscribed to the context of peacebuilding during transition processes.
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