Research for peacebuilding and development

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The research project for peacebuilding and development seeks to foster dialogue among multiple actors (regional, national, and international, including State and non-state actors) in order to contribute to the promotion of regional agendas for peace and development. To achieve this, the Program considers it necessary to overcome the currently polarized views of the conflict as a condition for advancing toward more integrated perspectives of peace and development.

For this reason, the Program aims at systematizing and analyzing the dynamics of the regional and national conflict, as well as the social mobilization in favor of peace and the promotion of development, in order to identify the main recommendations that need to be taken into account in the creation of regional peace and development agendas.

The project analyzes four regions of the country:

1. Eastern Caribbean Coast: Northern Cesar, Southern Guajira, and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
2. Western Caribbean Coast: Southern Córdoba, Urabá region of the Departments of Antioquia and Chocó (Middle and Lower Atrato River Basin.
3. Norte de Santander: Cúcuta and Catatumbo.
4. Colombian Pacific Coast: Tumaco.

Additionally, the project draws on two main CINEP/Peace Program research lines: Political Violence and State-building and Peace Studies.

Political violence and state-building

libros_violencia_politica_y_estado3 Since its creation in 1972, the Political Violence and State-Building team has accumulated a long list of research products regarding the Colombian armed conflict, the population process of the country, regional and national political dynamics, Church-State relationships, and economic development. It has focused on the regional evolution of the internal armed conflict, the transformations of the actors, and their relations with the population and the local and regional power groups.

Peace studies

Since the early 1990s, the Peace Studies line of work has concentrated on two fields. On the one hand, it has focused on the systematization and analysis of collective actions for peace and against violence, by identifying experiences promoted by multiple actors, as well as on studying the correlation between these initiatives and the armed conflict at the local, regional, and national levels. On the other hand, it has followed up on the dialogue and negotiation processes between the Government and the illegal armed groups, particularly the peace agendas and models applied in the country.