Peace Without Consensus: The Discourse of the Military and Former Guerrilla Elites on the Agreement with the FARC-EP in Colombia

Abstract

The following work analyzes the discourse produced by generals of the Colombian Armed Forces and voices of the highest political authority in the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) guerrilla, which has transformed into the political party Comunes. To this end, this article analyzes the contrasting ways of legitimizing, problematizing, and understanding the scope and significance of the Peace Agreement signed in November 2016 and its subsequent implementation are examined through 21 in-depth interviews with key actors. Thus, the military establishment and the demobilized guerrilla project an irreconcilable discourse. While they share a diagnosis of non-compliance with the Agreement, the responsibilities and accusations follow very different trajectories, reflecting the great polarity and the weakening of the peace process experienced in recent years.