Journal: Can Governments Negotiate With Insurgents? The Latin American Experience

"Can Governments Negotiate With Insurgents? The Latin American Experience"
W. Alejandro Sanchez and Erica Illingworth
Small Wars & Insurgencies
Volume 28, 2017 - Issue 6 - P. 1014-1036
Originally Published: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2017.1374607

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Abstract

In June 2016, the Colombian Government and the FARC insurgent movement signed a ceasefire agreement, which brings the two sides one step closer to putting an end to over five decades of war. Unfortunately, Latin America has a rich history of insurgent movements, particularly during the cold war era, some of which continue to operate today. Most of these movements disappeared due to military operations, though some did so via peace negotiations. This essay aims to discuss the various ends of Latin American insurgencies to answer whether, indeed, insurgents can be negotiated with.

Keywords: Latin America, insurgency, terrorism, internal conflict, cold war, FARC, ELN, Shining Path, conflict resolution, hurting stalemate