Abstract

JARAMILLO CONTRERAS, Andrea Carolina. Understanding the collective reincorporation of FARC-EP ex-combatants from the perspective of social worlds. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2023, vol.46, n.2, pp.207-234.  Epub May 15, 2024. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v46n2/100300.

In this article I analyze the collective reincorporation process of FARC-EP ex-members from the perspective of social worlds. The term social worlds emerge as a sociological perspective developed by the Chicago School of Sociology that understands the processes of social change through the comprehension of the interdependencies and shared schemas between different social groups that transform themselves through new forms of communication and relationships. In doing so, I explore the contributions of FARC-EP ex-members towards the peace process in Colombia and the implications of their interaction with other social worlds in their successful social, political, and economic reincorporation. Under a multisite ethnography, during 2018 and 2019 in three territories in Colombia (Agua Bonita, Llano Grande, and San José de León), I explored the local practices of FARC-EP ex-members and their relationship with national, international organisations, and with neighbouring communities. For this research, I conducted 58 interviews with FARC-EP ex-members and 12 with neighbouring communities, complemented by participant observation and field diaries. Collective reincorporation practices offer new ways of understanding the social worlds under a balance of power and new leaderships that favour self-sustainability processes in the territories. Valuing the agency and local empowerment benefits the reincorporation, the reconciliation, and the territorial peace processes. However, the manipulation of resources and social powers can turn FARC-EP ex-members into another passive actor in society, in which their social worlds may be absorbed by other actors who have more power and social control in the territories. Without giving value to the collective initiatives of FARC-EP ex-members, there is a risk that we will be limited to hegemonic and dominant structures that minimise local peace initiatives and therefore the participation of FARC-EP ex-members in peacebuilding in Colombia.

Keywords : collective reincorporation; ex-combatants; FARC-EP; social worlds; reintegration; territorial peace.

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