Dilemmas of militarization in the Colombian post-conflict: “from internal enemy” to “total peace”

Following the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian state and the FARC-EP, the country continues to confront the structural challenges of an armed post-conflict scenario marked by persistent violent dynamics and tensions in the governance of security. This study examines the enduring dilemmas in national security policies implemented by the last two administrations in Colombia through a mixed-methods approach. It integrates documentary analysis and qualitative critical discourse analysis with quantitative data science techniques, which include algorithms, operations of supervised classification, and relational analysis, to identify discursive patterns, thematic recurrences, and semantic networks embedded in state security narratives. The findings indicate that the administration of Iván Duque Márquez (2018-2022) adopted a posture of hypersecuritization oriented towards the search for an “internal enemy” in the daily life of citizens, while the government of Gustavo Petro Urrego (2022-2026) has implemented a policy of military desecuritization, framed in his Total Peace proposal. Both approaches have had critical effects on territorial control and the fight against non-state armed actors. This study provides a novel perspective on the evolution of security narratives and strategies in Colombia, highlighting the impact of these divergent approaches on the management of violence, militarization, and territorial control.

• Autor principal: Devia-Acevedo, Emerson David (author)
• Altres autors: Niño, César (author)
• Format: article
• Idioma: spa
• Publicat: 2025
• Matèries: Colômbia; desecuritização; inimigo; hipersecuritização; paz armada; pós-conflito; Colombia; de-securitization; enemy; hyper-securitization; armed peace; post-conflict; desecuritización; enemigo; hipersecuritización; posconflicto
• Accés en línia: https://iconos.flacsoandes.edu.ec/index.php/iconos/article/view/6547