Looking into the challenges and opportunities of ex-combatants in Colombia
Dr Georgina Gomez
The output I am most proud of is this chapter in a book on transformation entrepreneurship that looks into the challenges and opportunities of ex-combatants reintegrating themselves in the peacebuilding efforts of Colombia after a several-decade long conflict.
A group of ex combatants decided to create a social enterprise in collaboration with other partners and make use of a small credit received from the government. They started brewing a beer called ‘La Roja’, creating a bond to their past and their future.
Why is this research relevant?
I am particularly proud of the fact that the chapter is based on the research papers of two ISS MA students from 2021 and 2022, and was written in collaboration with ISS colleague Dr Shyamika Jayasundara.
The importance of the research is that it focuses on the reintegration of ex combatants, a phase that is often neglected in comparison with the other stages of the peacebuilding process and it mobilizes the analytical category of everyday peacebuilding.
The chapter is titled 'Transformational entrepreneurship in post-conflict economies: ex-combatants doing business (as unusual) in Colombia' and is published in Cases on Transformational Entrepreneurship, Edward Elgar publishing.