Overview

This event will explore the challenges of achieving sustainable peace with armed groups that are deeply embedded in illicit economies, using the Colombian experience as a case study to inform approaches to resolving other protracted armed conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia.  

After 52 years of conflict between the Colombian government and the non-state armed group (NSAG) Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), the 2016 peace agreement was widely heralded as a success. Since then, however, organised crime groups have emerged to fill the territorial vacuums left by the FARC, and dissident FARC factions have rearmed and restored control of illicit economies in their former areas of operation. The incumbent Colombian government’s efforts to make ‘Total Peace’ with all armed actors in the country have struggled to meet success, raising fundamental questions about the feasibility of peace in environments where strong economic incentives for conflict persist. 

In this panel event, conclusions drawn from Colombia will be applied to other conflicts to examine how the lure of illicit economies may present an obstacle to peace by disincentivising disarmament and negotiation. We will also consider how countries can successfully navigate around these risks. 

Programme 

Moderator: Dr José A. Gutiérrez is a lecturer at the University of York's Centre for Applied Human Rights. His work explores the intersections between conflict studies, human rights and peace studies and has also focused on statebuilding, criminality, political contention and armed conflict. José has actively participated in various transitional justice initiatives in Colombia

Speakers: 

  • Dr Alexandra Phelan is a RUSI Associate Fellow and Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University. Alexandra has published on insurgent legitimation strategies, the Colombian conflict, and women in terrorism and armed conflict. She has recently authored the book, The Combination of All Forms of Struggle: Insurgent Legitimation and State Response to FARC (Columbia University Press, 2025), interrogating the impact of the political recognition of the FARC in the Colombian peace process. 

  • Michael Jones, Senior Research Fellow in the Terrorism and Conflict Research Group, RUSI  

  • Jennifer Scotland, Research Analyst in the Organised Crime and Policing Research Group, RUSI  

How to Attend 

This event is open to all. If you have any questions regarding the event please email [email protected] 

 

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