The Civil Society Building Peace Amid War: A Conceptual Proposal

Abstract

Through the analysis of the Colombian case (2012-2021), which includes mapping 211 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working for peace, we propose a mixed conceptual framework that allows for the conceptualization of CSOs based on fundamental and complementary attributes. As a result of the intersection of these attributes, we propose four ideal-typical forms: (1) CSOs for the culture of peace and democratic strengthening, (2) CSOs for democratic strengthening based on membership in a vulnerable group within the conflict context, (3) CSOs for comprehensive development as a means to pacify society, (4) CSOs for the development of a group and/or territory affected by the conflict, based on belonging to that group or area. Although as ideal abstractions overlapping is possible, the results show that 166 of the studied CSOs work around the democratic cause. Specifically, 97 of them related to culture of peace, and 69 based on belonging to vulnerable groups. On the other hand, 64 of the observed CSOs work for development. Here it is possible to distinguish between CSOs that emerge around the agenda (39 out of 64) and those that organize themselves around a sense of belonging or identity (25 out of 64).