Keep Your Friends Close But Your Enemies Closer: Building sustainable peace in times of repression

Abstract

Lederach describes middle-range actors as the best agents for sustainable peacebuilding because they can build relationships with all sectors of society. In Colombia there are many peacebuilding organisations trying to implement this idea. However, the political climate in Colombia has been adverse towards peace and peace builders, influencing the relationship-building capacities of these organisations. There are factors that can enhance these capacities in such times of repression: proximity to the conflict, mobilisation capacity and origin. However, the strong emphasis placed on the role of middle-range actors in building sustainable peace should be dampened, as middle-range actors cannot build peace on their own.