In the post-agreement context of the long and complex armed conflict in Colombia, peace cooperation funded by German development actors is a promising, but not unambiguous tool. By the means of qualitative methods comprising expert and group interviews, as well as participant observations of instances of cooperation among the personnel of two Colombian-German peace initiatives, this paper explores the social dynamics that unfold in these contexts. This approach grants insights into the negotiation of roles within Colombian-European teams and allows to identify and retrace local resistances to Northern development personnel. The analysis points to some shortcomings in the conception of North-South development cooperation with personnel, primarily the failure to consider the latent conflict between the global North and South that arises from and perpetuates itself through the global imbalance of power.
publication date
May 12, 2021 1:36 PM
Research
keywords
Analysis of Colombian-German Peace Cooperation Initiatives
Difficulties in the development of joint Colombian-German initiatives as a result of the global North - South division
Global power imbalance in the global North - South divide
International cooperation for development Initiatives to assist German personnel in the peacebuilding process in Colombia
