The resilient, the remobilized and the removed: party mobilization among former M19 combatants

Abstract

Armed groups often transform into political parties, which involves a profound transformation of the organizational culture. How these parties condition the continued political mobilization of their members is unclear. Using life history interviews with former combatants of the armed group M19 in Colombia, this article demonstrates what aspects of the party mobilize and stymie their political mobilization. Through exploring three typical political life paths – the Resilient, the Remobilized and the Removed – this article demonstrates the long-term challenges of post-war politics, the role of the party, as well as the personal journey from (war and) peace to democracy.

Acknowledgements

The author is indebted to numerous people for their helpful comments on previous drafts of this article (Véronique Dudouet, David Rampf, Enzo Nussio and the IP/COMP seminar at my department), as well as to the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments. A special thanks to Enzo Nussio, Stefan Quiroga Fajardo, María Camila Perez Bonila, Usdin Leonardo Martínez Orellanos, Natalia Gutiérrez Trujillo, Arlene B. Tickner, Patricia Bohórquez and Ana Maria Rodriguez Alfonso for their help in Colombia. The study was made possible by a generous grant from the SYLFF/Tokyo Foundation and the Atmer Foundation, for which the author is very grateful. Her most heartfelt thanks go to the interviewees who graciously decided to share their life with the author.

Notes

1. Individuals and networks originating from M19 have been a part of several political parties since its demobilization, such as: Polo Democrático Independiente (PDI) (2003); Polo Democrático Alternativo (PDA) (2005); Partido Verde Colombiano (2005); Movimiento Progresistas (2011) (list is not exhaustive, nor does it make claims about the degree of M19 penetration).

2. Celestina’s diagram and account of her life diverged somewhat. In her diagram she drew a diminishing curve, while her description of her current and past political activity showed her to be a resilient type.