From War to Peace: The Transition Experience of Guatemalan Ex-Combatants: A Grounded Theory Inquiry

The people of Guatemala have embarked on a journey that began in December 1996 when the Guatemalan Government and the insurgent guerrillas (the URNG) signed a Peace Accord, ending a violent 36 year civil war. This remarkable achievement has ushered in a period of what Galtung refers to as “negative peace” or absence of war. However, this achievement really has only marked the beginning of their journey to achieve “positive peace” – which refers to a civil society built upon the principles of social justice. An analysis of the last twelve years demonstrates that Guatemala continues to struggle with the challenges of a post-conflict society, including continued impunity and widening political, economic and social disparity between rich and poor, and the challenges related to the reintegration of former combatants. Considering that the people of Guatemala represent only one of many nations that is struggling to achieve positive peace following a violent conflict, lessons to be learned from the Guatemalan experience have global implications. While an analysis of a post-conflict society such as Guatemala could be undertaken from a number of different perspectives, I am particularly interested in an inquiry from the viewpoint of the ex-combatants. As a preliminary step into this inquiry, I lived in the community of Nuevo Horizonte (NH) for four months in the fall of 2008. Located in the tropical frontier of northern Guatemala, Nuevo Horizonte is an intentional community of 400 that was established by ex-combatants during the demobilization phase immediately following the civil war. Guided by a collective vision, they have developed a successful agricultural and small enterprise cooperative, while still maintaining their strong ideological principles. I therefore believe that their world view, shaped by their unique role in Guatemala’s history, has not been adequately understood, and that a scholarly inquiry into their narrative may offer a potentially important perspective to the current literature on post-conflict societies and the re-integration process for ex-combatants around the world. Recent history gives many examples of post conflict societies addressing the re-integration of ex-combatants following civil war. Demobilization, Disarmament and Re-integration (DDR) of ex-combatants following armed civil conflict has become an increasingly common strategy, sanctioned and sponsored by UN agencies. The research literature on this topic attests to the many challenges and failures in various countries which have recently ended civil conflict. However, the re-integration of the ex-combatants of Guatemala’s insurgent forces (guerrillas, or URNG as they were called in Guatemala) has been deemed a success by many in the international community, and by the ex-combatants themselves. It is my hope that lessons can be learned from their story and from their journey. Using Grounded Theory Methodology, I hope to work with this group of ex-combatants to answer the following questions:How did you make the transition back into civil society? What do you want to tell to other ex-combatants in other countries? What advice do you want to give to international peace makers/brokers?