Violence is Colombia’s key constraint, affecting economic growth, productivity and development. In the past decade the scale and intensity of violence in Colombia’s 40-year-old civil war has gone from a marginal conflict to generalised violence that now dominates the lives of most citizens, severely restricting the government’s capacity to tackle poverty, inequality and exclusion.

Would a better understanding of violence help in the development of new approaches to addressing violent behaviour and building sustainable peace? This research by the World Bank was undertaken at a time of considerable optimism during President Andres Pastrana’s ambitious attempt to negotiate peace. However, this was swept aside with the failure of peace negotiations and subsequent renewed state military action against guerrilla forces in February 2002. The research on violence in Colombia sets out a new framework for analysing violence and recommends strategies for addressing the issue at national, sector and municipal levels. In addition to developing the new framework, the research assesses the cost of violence and examines the development of a national plan to address violence.

A conceptual framework is a critical first stage in understanding the links between different types of violence and formulating initiatives for sustainable peace. Categorising violence as political, economic or social, the framework identifies four different levels of violence: structural, institutional, interpersonal and individual. It is clear that violence erodes Colombia’s capital (especially social capital) and assets, thereby increasing the insecurity and vulnerability of the population. A National Strategy for Peace and Development (NSPD) is recommended, which would seek to control the symptoms of violence, introduce preventative measures, and rebuild the fabric of society, in particular to strengthen social capital. An NSPD would consist of actions at three levels: a national level peace programme, sector level initiatives to integrate violence reduction into priority sectors, and municipal level social capital projects.

Research findings highlight the following principles for an NSPD:

• the government must demonstrate its commitment to peace – through the negotiation of appropriate peace agreements – and to the design and implementation of a comprehensive NSPD
• the development of a fiscal policy to pay for peace: possible sources of funding are peace bonds, taxation and external donor assistance
• the creation of partnerships for sustainable development, including the collaboration of civil society and the business community
• the promotion of participatory debates about local-level causes of and solutions to violence, and identification of local-level solutions to rebuild social capital
• the development of co-ordinated approaches to economic and social violence reduction.

An NSPD should include three components to address the continuum of violence at different levels of causality:

• Nationally, peace programmes should provide incentives for peace, as well as interventions for demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants, reconstruction measures and programmes to assist displaced populations.
• Sectorally, mainstreaming violence reduction into sector policies and programmes, and focusing on sectors such as education and the judiciary, is crucial.
• At a municipal level, small-scale participatory projects can help rebuild trust, cohesion and social capital; decentralisation would allow for the creation of plans addressing specific types of violence affecting particular municipalities.

Source(s):
‘Violence in Colombia: building sustainable peace and social capital’, World Bank Country Study: World Bank, Washington, DC, USA by Caroline Moser, December 1999

Funded by: World Bank

id21 Research Highlight: 10 June 2002

Further Information:
Caroline Moser
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JD
UK

Tel: 0207-922-0300
Fax: 0207-922-0299
Contact the contributor: C.Moser@odi.org.uk

Overseas Development Institute. UK

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'How can communities manage conflict? Urban violence and post-war reconciliation'

'Assessing the odds for peace: conflict resolution in theory and practice'

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CODEP explores the causes of conflict, its impact on people and improving practice

Refer to the World Bank for more on Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction

Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict from OCHA

Understanding Civil Wars, Crime and Violence through Economic Research from the World Bank