Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses, how state actions regarding rural development in the Colombian peace process are becoming a security risk for peasant communities and, how one of these, namely the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, is pursuing its own ideas of security, peace and a dignified life.

Paper long abstract:

The question of security is a central aspect of most state peace processes after violent conflicts - not only in Colombia. The end of hostilities and the demobilization of combatants directly increase the "physical" and "public security" of all inhabitants in conflict regions. Peace measures, such as rural development programs or land reforms, aim to improve "human security". Interestingly, some of the key addresses of such measures, such as rural communities, are not really involved in their design and implementation (although Colombian state institutions claim exactly the opposite). Thus, it is not surprising that in the implementation of these measures, frictions between local conceptions of peace and national peace policies, which at their core concern ideas and concepts of security, become apparent. Drawing on the example of the peasant Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, where I have been conducting repeated fieldwork since 2006, this paper shows not only how state peace measures regarding rural development with an extractivist focus pose an existential threat to peasants’ way of life, but also how a peasant community develops and pursues alternative ideas and conceptions of security, peace and a dignified life.