Connecting expressions of discontent: The processes of escalation, de-escalation, and recurrence of conflict in Colombia and South Africa

This book provides a challenge to our understanding of conflict and its evolution across time in internal conflicts. Our association of the word conflict with the presence of organized armed violence, has made us blind to other expressions of conflict and discontent, such as protests and riots. Whereas the assumed disconnection between different expressions of conflict has allowed for a deep understanding of specific expressions of conflict, this bifurcation has led to the study of expressions of conflict into separated fields of research: research focused on social movements, and work focused predominantly on armed conflict. Because of this, protest and armed conflict have been typically conceived of as independent of each other and studied separately. However, the presence of protests before, during, and after armed conflict in different countries contradicts the idea that different expressions of conflict - protest and armed conflict - are unrelated in internal armed conflicts. This book proposes a framework to theorize how conflictual processes, their escalation towards armed conflict, the end of armed conflict, the failure to end armed conflict, and the recurrence of specific expressions of conflict across time take place. It illustrates this by analyzing two case studies: Colombia (1948-2016) and South Africa (1948-2008). Thus, this book contributes to the study of conflict by bringing insights from different literatures such as social movements, civil war, armed conflict, and collective actions literatures. By exploring the gaps and overlaps between social movements and armed conflict literatures and juxtaposing this with primary and secondary data from the cases studies, this text contributes to the research and understanding of how different expressions of conflict are related across time in processes of contentious politics. This book is a vital resource for academics working on the fields of sociology, political sciences, conflict studies and international relations interested in the connections between the literatures of collective action, social movements, and civil war studies. Also, this text is useful for peace and conflict practitioners interested in the study of political processes. In addition to this, the document provides an important resource for conflict and peace researchers interested in the cases of Colombia and South Africa. Finally, the book serves as a prologue to understand more recent developments in Colombia (the 2019, 2020 and 2021 national strikes), as well as understanding the emergence of protests and riots in South Africa after 2008, and as a case for reflecting about the perennial nature of conflict