ABSTRACT
In August 2016, the Colombian government and the country’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), announced a peace deal to end more than five decades of war. The final agreement, reached after four years of negotiations in Cuba, allowed for economic reform and investment in rural areas of the country as well as the disarmament and reintegration of former combatants. However, the peace treaty fell short of a final hurdle. The agreement had to pass a nation-wide referendum in October 2016 but despite promising polling numbers, failed narrowly at the ballot box. This has created an atmosphere of uncertainty about the future trajectory of the conflict. Despite this setback, the peace process itself was remarkable: at its core was an understanding by the Colombian government that a military solution was neither desirable nor feasible, and that a negotiated settlement was necessary for lasting peace.
