Post Cold War civil society mobilization in Colombia

The phenomenon of a decline of radicalization within the social movement milieu has not been adequately understood. In Colombia, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerilla movement has now been in decline for at least twenty years. (Arias and Maldonado 2004) This has led to a rise in popular movements on the non-violent Left in Colombia. (Osorio and Weinstein 1998) When Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung was published in 1964, Marxist revolution seemed achievable to many. Anti-colonial movements were raging at the time and it was also the year that that the FARC was founded. The FARC was one rebel army in a wave of revolutionary movements across the globe. While this tide has long since receded, the FARC, just a vestige of what they once were, remains entrenched in the jungles while losing support in the cities. This decline has lead to the rise of popular movements. After the decline of the FARC, no longer having a mass base and now largely seen as a criminal organization, activists formed non-violent civil society organizations to protest for peace. Combined with reintegration programs for former FARC rebels and recent military defeats, this trend has accelerated the decline of the FARC.