This paper investigates the suitability of the economic reintegration strategy for former Colombian combatants, taking into account the challenges facing this population. It argues that the international discourse primarily consists of a market-centred versus a people-centred perspective, each with a distinct approach to economic reintegration. The paper finds that in Colombia there was a lack of inclusion of key stakeholders in the initial design of the process. As a result, the economic reintegration strategy ended up merely accommodating certain neoliberal ideals and thereby leaned towards a market-centred approach. Lately, steps have been taken towards an increasingly people-centred approach. This is currently reflected in improved results of the process, which predict a brighter future for economic reintegration of former combatants in Colombia.
The study presented in this paper investigated the process of designing and later modifying the economic reintegration strategy in Colombia. It asked to what extent the strategy has been adequately adapted to address the major challenges facing both individually and collectively demobilised combatants. The study mainly consisted of a number of semi-structured interviews conducted with various stakeholders, including victims of the conflict and participants in the reintegration programme. Most interviews were conducted in the conflict-ridden rural region of Urabá. The state of the reintegration process there does not necessarily extrapolate to other regions. Nevertheless, it offers an in-depth understanding of how national policies can affect local communities, which is the focus of the discussion in this paper. The findings were triangulated with published and unpublished research conducted mainly by the Colombian Agency for Reintegration (ACR, the Spanish acronym), the MAPP/OEA, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In order to present the research and analyse the findings, the paper is structured as follows. First, a theoretical framework is established, which is used to examine the contemporary international discourse on economic reintegration. Then, the evolution of the economic reintegration strategy in Colombia is outlined, followed by an analysis of the current state of the process. In light of this, the paper analyses the Colombian political context to identify the factors that led to this specific strategy. Finally, the paper proposes a new approach to improve the current process and contribute to the design of a successful future DDR programme for collectively demobilised guerrillas.
