Evaluating Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration Frameworks: The Role of Community-Led Psycho-Social Support Networks in Reintegrating FARC Ex-Combatants in Colombia

Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies | Vol. 10, No. 11, November 2019 | pp. 91–99

DOI: 10.46882/2019/GJPCS/101101

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: Evaluating Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration Frameworks: The Role of Community-Led Psycho-Social Support Networks in Reintegrating FARC Ex-Combatants in Colombia

Authors: Maria Camila Gomez¹, Sarah L. Bernstein²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of Political Science, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia; ²Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Abstract:
Formal Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration (DDR) strategies frequently encounter intense friction within civil communities following long-term, identity-based armed conflicts. This paper evaluates the operational efficacy of traditional, community-led psycho-social support mechanisms compared to state-administered vocational programs in supporting former FARC-EP combatants in Colombia. Utilizing a longitudinal tracking methodology, we monitored 310 former insurgent fighters across a three-year post-conflict window ending in late 2018. The quantitative metrics reveal that ex-combatants integrated into rural agricultural cooperatives featuring strong grassroots community support systems recorded a 44% lower score on clinical psychological trauma indexes than those placed in individual urban environments. Furthermore, qualitative focus group assessments show that local cooperative models are more successful at rebuildling inter-communal trust and reducing retaliatory violence because they prioritize shared economic survival over individual legal compensation. The study demonstrates that centralized state DDR kits isolate returning combatants by neglecting community-wide healing dynamics. We argue that ensuring long-term democratic stability requires formally embedding localized cooperative structures into national peace implementation frameworks.

Keywords: DDR; Colombia Peace Accords; FARC Ex-Combatants; Psycho-Social Reintegration; Community Cooperatives; Trust Building

Manuscript Timeline: Received: March 12, 2019; Revised: May 28, 2018; Accepted: July 19, 2019; Published: November 22, 2019

Citation: Gomez, M. C., & Bernstein, S. L. (2019). Evaluating Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration Frameworks: The Role of Community-Led Psycho-Social Support Networks in Reintegrating FARC Ex-Combatants in Colombia. Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 10(11), 91–99. DOI: 10.46882/2019/GJPCS/101101

Subscribe to read the full article: https://internationalscholarsjournals.org/subscribe-to-read