Abstract
Beginning with an analysis of the types of peace that could be concluded following a protracted intra-state conflict, this introductory chapter explores some of the common problems that confront local communities following the conclusion of a partial peace agreement, which only involves some of the combatants, while others continue the struggle. It covers such topics as local safety and security, the dilemmas of various kinds of return, the search for justice for victims of human rights violations, the role of truth and memory in beginning the difficult process of genuine reconciliation, and some of the difficulties of implementing the provisions of national peace agreements at the local, grassroots level.
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Notes
- 1.
Even the Second World War did not end neatly on May 6, 1945, in Europe or on August 8 in Asia. In many parts of the world, large-scale fighting continued for some time—in Greece the civil was lasted until 1948 while in China the violent stage of the Nationalist-Communist struggle only ended in 1949 with the collapse of Kuomintang.
- 2.
According to the UCDP/PRIO data set, during the immediate Post-Cold War period, which witnessed the most widespread armed conflict of all the post-1945 era, of all the 121 ongoing conflicts between 1989 and 2005, 97 were intra-state struggles (Harbom et al. 2006).
- 3.
This scheme echoes Paul Collier’s three phases of: peace onset (approximately 2 years), post-conflict I and post-conflict II (4–5 years each), although many authors warn against assuming that linear progress through—say—a decade is the norm.
- 4.
- 5.
In addition, the security situation is often complicated by the presence of former combatants who only find employment in successor, criminal organizations.
- 6.
- 7.
For an account and evaluation of the workings of transitional justice in Colombia following the signing of the Santa Fe de Ralito Pact, see Garcia-Godos and Knut Andreas (2010)
- 8.
Idler et al. (2018) use the term “shadow citizenship” to describe the relationship between local communities and controlling insurgent groups, in which locals accept the authority of insurgents in return for the provision of public goods and services no longer—if ever—provided by the legitimate government.
- 9.
- 10.
See the strategy used in El Salvador of resettling former—rival—combatants (former Faribundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNL) fighters and demobilized military) in communities in Usulután.
- 11.
The Havana Agreement arranged for FARC combatants to be demobilized in 23 Zonas Veredales Transitorias de Normilizaciones and 8 Campamentos scattered throughout Colombia where FARC frentes had been operating.
- 12.
This strategy of reunification with families is rarely possible, due to the difficulty of tracing parents in circumstances of massive displacement. Moreover, one of the reasons for some minors joining insurgent organizations involves domestic abuse and tensions at home (Human Rights Watch 2003).
- 13.
- 14.
As Christopher Duncan notes, “the way communities and individuals set memories of past conflicts in stone, steel or paint has ramifications for inter-group relations and other post-conflict dynamics” (Duncan 2009, p. 453).
- 15.
In other post-agreement situations—for example, in Bosnia—“reparations” have taken the form of perpetrators themselves repairing the harm they or their fellows have caused, carrying out physical repairs to infra-structure they have damaged, de-mining areas they are sewn with AP mines, eradicating illicit crops. Apart from such material reparations, other post-settlement periods have seen symbolic moves such as the restoration of rights previously denied to, or previously inoperable by victims and the construction of new mechanisms and jurisdictions (courts, tribunals, and commissions) for guaranteeing those rights over time (see Diaz and Santander 2017).
- 16.
See the chapter by Mouly and Bustos for a description of how participation in a local dance festival in Samaniego altered the perception of local FARC ex-combatants among—at least some of—the local community.
- 17.
The number of people claiming the status of victim is often another daunting post-agreement problem. The South African TRC found itself dealing with over 18,000 “recognized” victims. In Rwanda over 900,000 Tutsis were murdered during the 1997 genocide, which implies innumerable relatives and hence countless “victims”.
- 18.
Colombian studies have found that over 95% of child soldiers are suffering from some degree of PTSD in the immediate post-conflict period.
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Mitchell, C. (2022). The Problems Peace Can Bring. In: Allen, S.H., Hancock, L.E., Mitchell, C., Mouly, C. (eds) Confronting Peace. Rethinking Political Violence. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67288-1_1
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