scholarly journals Peace is on the Ballot: The Politicization of the Colombian Peace Talks

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
News Media ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Special Interest Groups ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Political Groups

On October 2nd 2016, Colombian voters rejected a referendum on the peace agreement between the federal government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Contrary to most advance polling and preliminary estimates in national and international news media, the “No” vote won by a tight margin, thus rejecting a peace deal that would have brought an end to the longest civil war in the Western hemisphere. This paper examines the intersections of civil society and the political groups most actively involved in the peace process in Colombia, beginning in the 1980s and leading to the 2016 referendum. The findings are two-fold: first, civil society has played an integral role in both the endurance and the hindrance of the peace process from its beginnings in 1980s up to the present day, through electoral support of independent candidates and by mobilization of special interest groups. Second, the 2016 referendum results share exceptional demographic and geographic correlations with the results of the 2014 presidential election. This suggests the peace referendum was highly politicized and split along the lines of partisanship at the highest echelons of Colombian democracy.  

The Ripe Moment for Civil Society

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Aljets ◽  
Betsie Chacko ◽  
Maria Jessop
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Peace Negotiations

AbstractThis article explores whether and how civil society engagement in a peace process can 'ripen' the conditions and facilitate the success of a peace process. The activities and methods of the Inter-religious Council of Sierra Leone are examined for their impact on each stage of the peace process with a view to shedding light on how civil society can help create the ripe conditions for formal peace negotiations, be an effective participant in negotiations, as well as improve the sustainability of a peace agreement.

Managing the Tension between Inclusionary and Exclusionary Processes: Building Peace in Burundi

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth McClintock ◽  
Térence Nahimana
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Peace Agreements ◽  
Peace Accords ◽  
Exclusive Processes

AbstractThe tension between inclusive and exclusive approaches is present throughout peace processes. The challenge of facilitators, mediators, and parties alike is to determine how to manage these tensions, how to integrate various processes into a comprehensive whole and ensure that those required to implement the peace agreement have access to the process that creates the peace agreement. In particular, how can civil society, an actor of ever-increasing importance in the implementation of peace agreements, be effectively included in the design of the accords? This article examines the tension between inclusive and exclusive processes within the context of the Burundi peace process and the development of the Arusha Peace Accords.

The Brazilian Military Regime, 1964–1985

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Napolitano
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The State ◽  
Military Regime ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Capitalist Development ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Military ◽  
Political Groups

Since its establishment in 1889, the history of the Brazilian republic was marked by the centrality of the armed forces, particularly the army, in political life. But between 1964 and 1985, the military was in direct command of the state, imposing indirectly elected generals as president. After overthrowing the reformist center-left government of João Goulart on March 31, 1964, the military installed a tutelary authoritarian regime to control civil society and the political system, serving as a political model for similar regimes in Latin America during the Cold War. The military passed arbitrary laws and severely repressed left-wing political groups and social movements while also seeking to accelerate capitalist development and the “national integration” of Brazil’s vast territory. They intended to modernize Brazilian industry and carry out bold infrastructure projects. On the other hand, they faced strong opposition from civil society, led by political groups, artists, intellectuals, and press outlets of diverse ideological backgrounds (Marxists, liberals, socialists, and progressive Catholics). These groups were divided between total refusal to negotiate with the military and critical adherence to the policies of the generals’ governments, composing a complex relationship between society and the state. Understanding the role of the military regime in Brazilian history requires a combination of historical research and historiographic criticism in light of the disputes over memory that continue to divide social and political actors.

“Spoiling” in the Public Sphere: Political Opposition to Peace Negotiations and the Referendum Campaign in Colombia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Joana Amaral
Keyword(s):  
Peace Process ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Political Opposition ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Peace referendums can be exploited by political actors who may gain politically from opposing a peace process. This article explores how political opposition affects peace negotiations, particularly when a referendum is used to ratify an agreement, through the study of the Colombian peace negotiations between the government of President Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It finds that the exclusive character of the negotiations, coupled with their confidentiality, contributed to the political opposition’s capacity to influence public opinion against the peace process and to reject the peace agreement in the 2016 referendum. This qualitative study is based on the content analysis of reports, memoirs and interviews with key negotiation delegates, journalists and representatives of the referendum campaigns. It argues that political inclusion in peace negotiations can help prevent referendum spoiling, while public information and education during the negotiations can reduce the impact of disinformation and manipulation campaigns.

Women’s Participation in Informal Peace Processes

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-98
Author(s):  
Anjali Kaushlesh Dayal ◽  
Agathe Christien
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Systematic Study ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Rights Issues

Abstract Women’s greater presence in informal peace processes is often noted in works on peace processes, but there has been little systematic evidence about this involvement. This article is the first systematic study of women’s participation in informal peace processes. We find that women are a significant presence in civil society efforts to forge peace outside formal negotiation rooms: nearly three-fourths of identifiable informal peace processes have clear evidence of involvement from women’s groups. This research indicates that women advocate to be included in formal peace processes, work to legitimate formal negotiations and organize for peace, advocate for the inclusion of women’s rights issues in the final peace agreement, provide information on human rights violations to participants in the formal peace process, engage in local conflict resolution, and advocate as partisans for one or another side in the conflict.

Navigating gender in elite bargains: Women's movements and the quest for inclusive peace in Colombia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Alexandra Phelan ◽  
Jacqui True
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Women's Movements ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
Political Bargaining ◽  
Significant Case ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender

Abstract A growing body of scholarship connects the participation of women and the inclusion of gender provisions to the sustainability of peace settlements. But how do women's groups navigate gender power structures and gendered forms of violence within complex and fragile political bargaining processes aimed at ending large-scale conflict? The 2016 Colombian peace agreement, internationally applauded for its inclusion of strong gender provisions and women's participation as negotiators and peace advocates, is a significant case for examining these questions. Drawing on original case material, including interviews of key actors on different sides of the conflict – this article analyses the political bargaining dynamics within and among women's movements, the Santos government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC). We argue that the inclusion of women was pivotal in transforming the elite bargaining process and power structures of Colombian society enabling a gender-based approach to the substantive peace agenda addressing transitional gender justice for sexual violence survivors and gender-equal redistribution through land and rural reform programmes. The study suggests that deeply situated political bargaining analysis is essential to navigating gender in elite bargains rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to inclusive peace.

scholarly journals The People’s Champions? Populist Communication as a Contextually Dependent Political Strategy

2021 ◽  
pp. 107769902199864
Author(s):  
Iskander De Bruycker ◽  
Matthijs Rooduijn
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
News Media ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
News Stories

This article conceives of populist communication as a contextually dependent political strategy. We bridge actor- and communication-centered approaches by arguing that the context of issues conditions the extent to which parties employ populist communication. We draw from a content analysis of 2,085 news stories in eight news media outlets and Eurobarometer data connected to 41 EU policy issues and analyze statements from 85 political parties. Our findings show that populist parties are more prone to express populism on salient and polarized issues. Issues important to civil society groups, in contrast, make non-populist parties more inclined to express such communication.

Frozen Negotiations: The Peace Process in Chiapas

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúúl Beníítez Manaut ◽  
Andrew Selee ◽  
Cynthia J. Arnson
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
The Political ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Government ◽  
Better Than

Mexico's democratic transition has helped reduce, if not eliminate, the threat of renewed armed conflict in Chiapas. However, absent more active measures from the government and the Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) to seek a permanent peace agreement and come to terms with the legacies of the past, the conflict will linger on in an unstable déétente, which we term ““armed peace.”” While this situation is far better than the open hostilities of the past, it also belies the promise of a fully democratic society in which all citizens are equally included in the political process. La transicióón democráática en Mééxico ha contribuido a reducir, si no eliminar, la posibilidad de que el conflicto armado en Chiapas se reanude. Sin embargo, sin esfuerzos mas activos por parte del gobierno y del Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) para buscar un acuerdo de paz permanente y saldar cuentas con el pasado, el conflicto permaneceráá en un estado inestable que llamamos ““paz armada””. Aunque esta situacióón es mucho mejor que las tensiones y agresiones del pasado, no cumple los requisitos de una sociedad plenamente democráática en que todos los ciudadanos participan en condiciones de igualdad en el proceso políítico.

A New Regional Approach toward the Israeli–Palestinian Peace Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherif A. Eissa
Keyword(s):  
Peace Process ◽  
The Other ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Regional Approach ◽  
Oslo Accords ◽  
External Partner ◽  
The Way

There are two principal reasons behind the lack of success in reaching a final peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, namely, the malfunctioning negotiations’ framework from one side and the complexity of the negotiated issues from the other. This article is mainly addressing the bilateral framework’s flaws when it comes to the Oslo accords and the way the two negotiating parties have perceived them. It is an attempt to overhaul the existing Oslo peace process and not to create a new one. Oslo process has become entrenched over more than twenty years of different practices and legal realities. The article is also introducing a negotiating framework that combines the benefits of a multilateral regional track to the Oslo process aiming to redress the latent structural flaws. It is intended not to tackle the final status issues, as there is a plethora of literature doing so. The extensive focus on those complicated issues without redressing the process’ structural flaws has led partially to the current stalemate. The role of any mediator or external partner is not to solve those issues on behalf of the principal parties, but to work on the negotiating framework and the process itself.

scholarly journals The Influence of Rational Dimension in the GPH-MILF Peace Process

2018 ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Strategic Interactions ◽  
Actor Model ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
The Government ◽  
Rational Factor ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Shed Light

Resolution of the so-called “Bangsamoro Question” rests at the heart of the peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Southern Philippines, also known as the Bangsamoro homeland. Inspired by Allison and Zelikow’s conceptualization of Rational Actor Model (RAM), this paper analyzed how rational factor contributed to the conclusion of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) in 2014 and eventually enshrined into the Philippine Constitution through the approval of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) on July 27, 2018. This paper argued that the success of the GPH-MILF peace process does not only depend on the sincerity of the administrations of both then President Aquino III and current President Duterte, international support or commitment, pressure from civil societies and community involvement as what many commentators provided. As shown in this paper, the rational factor and its dimension significantly affected actors’ strategic interactions and the GPH-MILF peace process per se. The findings offered a new perspective for conflict-resolution and shed light on how rational dimension impacted both actors’ strategic interactions, which led to the conclusion of the GPH-MILF peace agreement. This clearly indicated that rational dimension greatly influenced GPH and MILF’s strategic interactions and thereby took flexible attitudes to resolve outstanding issues between them which consequently led to the signing of the CAB and ultimately the ratification of the BOL in 2018.

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