Landscapes of Uncertainty: Ex-Guerrillas’ Resistance to Postwar Violence in Colombia

Natalia Duarte-Mayorga, University of Pittsburgh

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Horizon Hall, 6325

In this talk, I will present how former FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas in Colombia mobilize collectively against ongoing violence after the 2016 peace accords. Based on ethnographic research across eight transition zones, I argue that uncertainty drives ex-combatants' collective action strategies. My study identifies two types of uncertainty shaped by regional conflict patterns. Volatile uncertainty in areas with multiple armed actors, and latent uncertainty in zones of contained conflict. Drawing on 112 interviews conducted between 2018-2023, the research bridges civil resistance, social movement, and DDR studies by reconceptualizing uncertainty as a dynamic force that varies regionally, and not merely as a background under conditions of violence. It reveals a paradox: war provided ex-combatants greater certainty about violence, while peace has created landscapes of precarious uncertainty. 

Hosted by The Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Sponsored by The Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Next Systems Studies.