Disarming without Demobilizing? : A Case Study of Young Ex-combatants’ Role in the Colombian Peace Process

In recent years, the views on youth in post-conflict societies has started to move away from stereotypes of youth acting predominantly as perpetrators of violence, towards a perspective underlining their positive participation in peace building. This study further challenges stereotypes of young peoples’ negative impact in post-conflict scenarios and aims to shed light on young ex-combatants’ role in peacebuilding while transitioning into civilian life. The study conducted twelve in-depth field interviews with young ex-combatants who joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) when they were eight to twenty years old. The interviews conducted two years after disarmament suggest that respondents consider their role in peacebuilding as crucial in sustaining the peace process. Moreover, they see political participation with equal conditions as necessary to achieve social justice in Colombia