No a la Guerra: Resistencia Civil en Dos Comunidades Periféricas de Colombia

This article compares the actions of two communities that declared themselves “peace territory” in Colombia: the municipality of Samaniego in the southwestern department of Nariño, bordering Ecuador, and the town (“corregimiento”) of Las Mercedes in the eastern department of Norte de Santander, bordering Venezuela. These communities share a similar situation. They were strongly affected by war and became places of coca cultivation. In the face of this situation the civilian population undertook a process of  nonviolent resistance against state and non-state armed actors. The authors used a qualitative methodology, including interviews, observation and the analysis of documentary sources, to compare the outcomes of these actions in both cases and understand the reasons of their success or failure. They found that three types of reasons can explain the distinct outcomes of these actions: i) the characteristics of the civil resistance movement, including the participation in the movement, its cohesion and its leadership, ii) the relationships between the community and armed groups, and iii) the support of external actors. Finally, the authors argue that peace negotiations at the national level can foster local peace initiatives, and that these are important for peace in Colombia. [Authors]