The FARC in Colombia: Collective Reintegration and Social Identity Transformation

Abstract

The Peace Treaty between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government in 2016 was a breakthrough toward ending an armed conflict of more than six decades. One requirement for its success is the reintegration of former combatants of the FARC into society, which in this case has been designed as a collective reintegration process. We conducted a qualitative field study with 20 former combatants of the FARC to understand their perception of this reintegration process using the framework of social identity theory. We found a strong disparity between the desire of participants to adhere to their identity as FARC while coming to terms with its decreasing likelihood. Participants felt threatened in their identity as FARC due to the violence targeted at them, their stigmatization and rejection by society, the perceived noncompliance of the Colombian government, and the increasing disintegration of the FARC. We discuss how identification with the FARC leads to different avenues of reintegration and affects former combatants' relations with society and the Colombian government. Adding to a multidimensional analysis and implementation of peace building, we highlight the need for structured reintegration programs that consider the psychosocial needs of all parties involved.

Colombian Transitional Justice: The media discourse of the Peace Agreement and perceptions regarding its institutions

“…In conclusion, social reconciliation relies on acknowledging the damage caused, and on the shared memory of the violent past in which the groups (e.g., former armed groups, victims) involved feel included and represented (Gluecker et al 2021). This process, which uses transitional justice as one of its fundamental tools, can be affected when individuals and groups devalue what occurred and prefer to silence and make the damage and pain of other groups invisible.…”

“…Nowadays, societies that have suffered collective violence express the urgency of creating appropriate spaces for social reconciliation based on recognizing the damage caused, the reintegration process, and creating a peaceful culture with an inclusive memory (Gluecker et al 2021) (Velez et al 2020). Similarly, in Colombia, the TC and the JEP were created as part of the peace agreement.…”

Giving peace a chance: Lessons from translational research in Colombia.

“…Indeed, as in many other protracted internal armed conflicts, in Colombia after decades of war and complete control of the main socialization channels (e.g., mainstream media, schools, leaders) over the hegemonic narrative, in-group mentalities are firmly built, contributing to mental models characterized by affective and cognitive rigidities to navigate reality (e.g., Bar-Tal, 2013; Bar-Tal & Halperin, 2011; Ross & Ward, 1995). These psychological processes were likely at play when many Colombians decided to vote against the peace deal, or to politically disengage and avoid voting in the 2016 plebiscite, altogether (e.g., Flores & Vargas, 2018; Gluecker et al, 2021; López López et al, 2018; Matanock & Garbiras-Díaz, 2018; Posada-Carbó, 2017). These processes were all the more pronounced in Antioquia, one of the most affected regions by FARC during the war (Wienand & Tremaria, 2017), and the region we focused on in our research (see elaboration below).…”

“…Based on this approach, it was crucial for us to avoid assuming that the exact same barriers and interventions from other conflict regions will be the most potent in Colombia. Our aim was to complement the important work that analyzed the Colombian context (e.g., Flores & Vargas, 2018; Gluecker et al, 2021; López López et al, 2018; Matanock & Garbiras-Díaz, 2018) and worked toward peacebuilding in this complicated context (e.g., Casas et al, 2020; Hurtado-Parrado et al, 2019; Maya-Jariego et al, 2019; Taylor, 2015), with a theory agnostic approach, in which we tried to identify the most promising intervention to the problem at hand that can be scaled up relatively easily (cf. Hameiri & Moore-Berg, in press).…”

Combatants’ issues and prospects in modern medical law under pandemic and post-pandemic conditions

“…The legal and ethical questions should address how much of this is the responsibility of the military health system or a broader state health system. These questions should provide opportunities for dialogue and intergroup interaction to create an atmosphere of acceptance and enable reconciliation with members of society who reject former combatants based on their altered identity (Gluecker et al, 2021).…”