Violence, Grassroots Pressure, and Civil War Peace Processes

doi:10.1017/9781108614856.003

2 - Violence, Grassroots Pressure, and Civil War Peace Processes

Insights from the Colombia–FARC Conflict

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 July 2019

J. Michael Greig

Edited by

James Meernik ,

Jacqueline H. R. DeMeritt and

Mauricio Uribe-López

Show author details

James Meernik: Affiliation:
University of North Texas
Jacqueline H. R. DeMeritt: Affiliation:
University of North Texas
Mauricio Uribe-López: Affiliation:
EAFIT University (Medelin, Coloumbia)

Book contents

Get access

Summary

The establishment of a peace agreement in November 2016 between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was a landmark achievement for a conflict that has persisted since 1964 in a country that has experienced civil war dating as far back as the 1940s. This peace agreement to end a more than fifty-year-old insurgency is all the more remarkable given the past history of failed peace attempts between the two sides. Over the decades, the two sides have vacillated between violent efforts aimed at winning the conflict outright and imposing their own settlement terms on one another and efforts at dialogue aimed at settling the conflict through negotiation. While these two processes – violence and negotiation – seem distinct, they are inextricably linked to one another. Violence between the FARC and the Colombian government shaped the occurrence and outcomes of peace efforts between them. At the same time, negotiations between the two sides conditioned future violence between them.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: As War Ends
What Colombia Can Tell Us About the Sustainability of Peace and Transitional Justice
, pp. 46 - 67

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108614856.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bapat, Navin. (2005). “Insurgency and the Opening of Peace Processes.” Journal of Peace Research 42 (6), 699–717.Google Scholar

Beardsley, Kyle. (2010). “Pain, Pressure, and Political Cover: Explaining Mediation Incidence.” Journal of Peace Research 47 (4), 395–406.Google Scholar

Beardsley, Kyle. (2011). The Mediation Dilemma. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar

Bercovitch, Jacob. (1989). “International Dispute Mediation,” in Kressel, Kenneth and Pruitt, Dean (eds.) 284–299. Mediation Research, The Process and Effectiveness of Third-Party Intervention. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar

Bercovitch, Jacob, Anagnoson, J. T., and Wille, D. L. (1991). “Some Conceptual Issues and Empirical Trends in the Study of Successful Mediation in International Relations.” Journal of Peace Research 28 (1), 7–17.Google Scholar

Buhaug, H. (2006). “Relative Capability and Rebel Objective in Civil War.” Journal of Peace Research 43 (6), 691–708.Google Scholar

Clayton, Govinda, and Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede. (2014). “Will We See Helping Hands? Predicting Civil War Mediation and Likely Success.” Conflict Management and Peace Science 31 (3), 265–284.Google Scholar

Cunningham, D. E., Skrede Gleditsch, K. and Salehyan, I. (2009). “It Takes Two: A Dyadic Analysis of Civil War Duration and Outcome.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 53 (4), 570–597.Google Scholar

Dario, Diogo. (2014). “Peace Talks between the FARC and Santos Government in Colombia.” BRICS Policy Center Brief 4 (2), 4–15.Google Scholar

Fearon, James. (1995). “Rationalist Explanations for War.” International Organization 49 (3), 379–414.Google Scholar

Felter, Claire, and Renwick, Danielle. (2017). “Colombia’s Civil Conflict.” Council on Foreign Relations. www.cfr.org/backgrounder/colombias-civil-conflict. Accessed November 17, 2017.Google Scholar

Findley, Michael. (2013). “Bargaining and the Interdependent Stages of Civil War Resolution.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 57 (5), 905–932.Google Scholar

Gartner, Scott Sigmund. (2008). “The Multiple Effects of Casualties on Public Support for War: An Experimental Approach.” American Political Science Review 102 (1), 95–106.Google Scholar

Greig, J. Michael. (2001). “Moments of Opportunity Recognizing Conditions of Ripeness for International Mediation between Enduring Rivals.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 45 (6), 691–718.Google Scholar

Greig, J. Michael. (2015a). “Rebels at the Gates: Civil War Battle Locations, Movement, and Openings for Diplomacy.” International Studies Quarterly 59 (4), 680–693.Google Scholar

Greig, J. Michael. (2015b). “Nipping Them in the Bud: The Onset of Mediation in Low-Intensity Civil Conflicts.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 59 (2), 336–361.Google Scholar

Greig, J. Michael, and Diehl, Paul F. (2012). International Mediation. Cambridge: Polity.Google Scholar

Greig, J. Michael, and Regan, Patrick M. (2008). “When Do They Say Yes? An Analysis of the Willingness to Offer and Accept Mediation in Civil Wars.” International Studies Quarterly 52 (4), 759–781.Google Scholar

Hultman, Lisa. (2009). “The Power to Hurt in Civil War: The Strategic Aim of RENAMO Violence.” Journal of Southern African Studies 35 (4), 821–834.Google Scholar

Isacson, Adam, and Rodriquez, Jorge Rojas. (2009). “Origins, Evolution, and Lessons of the Colombian Peace Movement,” in Bouvier, Virginia M. (ed.) 19–38. Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press.Google Scholar

Kreutz, Joakim. (2007). “Colombia, 1978-Present,” in DeRouen, Karl and Heo, Uk (eds.) 267–290. Civil Wars of the World: Major Conflicts Since World War II. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.Google Scholar

Kriesberg, Louis. (1992). International Conflict Resolution. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar

Mason, T. David, and Fett, P. J. (1996). “How Civil Wars End: A Rational Choice Approach.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 40 (4), 546–568.Google Scholar

McEwen, Craig A., and Milburn, Thomas W. (1993). “Explaining a Paradox of Mediation.” Negotiation Journal 9 (1), 23–36.Google Scholar

Melin, Molly, and Svensson, Isak. (2009). “Incentives for Talking: Accepting Mediation in International and Civil Wars.” International Interactions 35 (3), 249–271.Google Scholar

Mitchell, Christopher. (1995). “The Right Moment: Notes on 4 Models of Ripeness.” Paradigms 9 (1), 35–52.Google Scholar

Nasi, Carlo. (2009). “Colombia’s Peace Processes (1982–2002),” in Bouvier, Virginia M. (ed.) 39–64. Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.Google Scholar

Ott, Melvin. (1972). “Mediation as a Method of Conflict Resolution.” International Organization 26 (4), 595–618.Google Scholar

Owsiak, Andrew. (2014). “Conflict Management Trajectories in Militarized Interstate Disputes: A Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Foundations.” International Studies Review 16 (1), 50–78.Google Scholar

Pruitt, Dean, and Olczak, Paul. (1995). “Beyond Hope: Approaches to Resolving Seemingly Intractable Conflict,” in Bunker, Barbara and Rubin, Jeffrey (eds.) 59–92. Conflict, Cooperation, and Justice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar

Pruitt, Dean, and Rubin, Jeffrey. (1986). Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement. New York: Random House, Inc.Google Scholar

Regan, P. M., and Stam, A. C. (2000). “In the Nick of Time: Conflict Management, Mediation Timing, and the Duration of Interstate Disputes.” International Studies Quarterly 44 (2), 239–260.Google Scholar

Regan, Patrick M., Frank, Richard W., and Aydin, Aysegul. (2009). “Diplomatic Interventions and Civil War: A New Dataset.” Journal of Peace Research 46 (1), 135–146.Google Scholar

Reiter, D. (2003). “Exploring the Bargaining Model of War.” Perspectives on Politics 1 (1), 27–43.Google Scholar

Rettberg, Angelika. (2009). “Business and Peace in Colombia,” in Bouvier, Virginia M. (ed.) 191–206. Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.Google Scholar

Richmond, Oliver. (1998). “Devious Objectives and the Disputants’ View of International Mediation: A Theoretical Framework.” Journal of Peace Research 35 (6), 707–722.Google Scholar

Ruhe, Constantin. (2015). “Anticipating Mediated Talks: Predicting the Timing of Mediation with Disaggregated Conflict Dynamics.” Journal of Peace Research 52 (2), 243–257.Google Scholar

Segura, Renata, and Mechoulan, Delphine. (2017). Made in Havana: How Colombia and the FARC Decided to End the War. New York: International Peace Institute.Google Scholar

Sisk, Timothy. (2009). International Mediation in Civil Wars: Bargaining with Bullets. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar

Stanley, E. A., and Sawyer, J. P. (2009). “The Equifinality of War Termination: Multiple Paths to Ending War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 53 (5), 651–676.Google Scholar

Svensson, I. (2007). “Bargaining, Bias and Peace Brokers: How Rebels Commit to Peace.” Journal of Peace Research 44 (2), 177–194.Google Scholar

Toft, M. D. (2003). The Geography of Ethnic Violence: Identity, Interests, and the Indivisibility of Territory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar

Touval, Saadia. (1982). The Peace Brokers: Mediators in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948–1979. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar

Wagner, R. H. (2000). “Bargaining and War.” American Journal of Political Science 44 (3), 469–484.Google Scholar

Walter, Barbara. (1997). “The Critical Barrier to Civil War Settlement.” International Organization 51 (3), 335–364.Google Scholar

Walter, Barbara. (2002). Committing to Peace: The Successful Settlement of Civil Wars. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar

Walter, Barbara. (2006). “Building Reputation: Why Governments Fight Some Separatists but Not Others.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (2), 313–330.Google Scholar

Walter, Barbara. (2009). “Bargaining Failures and Civil War.” Annual Review of Political Science 12 (1), 243–261.Google Scholar

Watkins, Michael, and Lundberg, Kirsten. (1998). “Getting to the Table in Oslo: Driving Forces and Channel Factors.” Negotiation Journal 14 (2), 115–135.Google Scholar

Werner, Suzanne, and Yuen, Amy. (2005). “Making and Keeping Peace.” International Organization 59 (2), 261–292.Google Scholar

Wood, Reed. (2010). “Rebel Capability and Strategic Violence against Civilians.” Journal of Peace Research 47 (5), 601–614.Google Scholar

Zartman, I. William. (1981). “Explaining Disengagement,” in Rubin, Jeffrey (ed.) 148–170. Dynamics of Third-Party Intervention: Kissinger in the Middle East. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar

Zartman, I. William. (2000). “Ripeness: The Hurting Stalemate and Beyond,” in Stern, Paul and Druckman, Daniel (eds.) 225–250. International Conflict Resolution after the Cold War. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.