The cost of Peace

Column La Tarde

Fundación Kíos

The Cost of Peace

Edward Luttwak, a military strategist and historian of the United States released a few years ago a provocative article that outlined the benefits and practicalities of war, not only from a military standpoint, but from a political perspective. Luttwak said that war is a political decision beyond any ethical or moral consideration, which allows to end conflict by permitting the more powerful party to prevail over the weaker one. The war, in the words of Luttwak, allows rearranging forces and positions of different actors, setting new balances of power. Historically, the most warlike periods of history, have given way to stages of relative stability and peace, which are characterized by high economic growth. In short, the war will put an end to conflicts, clearing the parts to set new guidelines to negotiate and agree on a lasting consensus over the points in dispute.

The reflections of this controversial author may serve as a reference to raise some points on the new strategy of the national government against the armed conflict. War only works if it is used to bring down the confrontations for good. In Colombia, it is true that there has been a clear strengthening of the military forces, nonetheless the conflict came to a stalemate in which neither side can definitively imposed on the other. Even with the Democratic Security policy, the FARC still entrenched in certain areas of the country and they have hardly lose control over historic strategic areas like northern Cauca or the Colombian’s Amazon departments. The costs generated by this deadlock are very high not only from a budgetary perspective, but also from the viewpoint of the country’s misplaced opportunities for growth and development. Therefore, Mr. Santos government's decision to open the space for dialogues could permit exploration of new solutions to the conflict, beyond the purely military.

However, the end of armed conflict involves consideration of various relevant aspects. One is the economic cost the country should assume to ensure the combatants’ reintegration into civilian life. This requires the support of the productive and domestic corporate sectors, even if they are unwilling to cooperate financially in the process, as it was revealed by a recent survey published by Dinero magazine. The other key issue is justice. Peace cannot mean impunity and oblivion, much less, disregard of the victims’ rights to fair reparation. Two aspects we definitely should start considering, so this new process doesn’t became only a missed expectation but a real opportunity.