Böcker av Daniela Forero Nuñez

Between 2005 and 2008, the share of Latin American presidents from a right-wing party fell to 33%, compared to 64% in the early 1990s. By 2009, more than two-thirds of the countries in the region had a president from a left- or center-left party. Despite common sociopolitical and economic developments with its neighboring countries, Colombia elected a leftist president ¿ for the first time in its modern history ¿ only this year. The present paper examines the factors that might explain Colombiäs comparatively late political Left Turn.To this end, it explores the historic conditions that hindered the consolidation of a leftist political party or coalition with broad electoral support until the foundation of the Historic Pact for Colombia. Moreover, it draws attention to the recent social, political and economic developments that have fostered the expansion of this left-wing coalition yet considering that the efforts tocement a leftist political alternative date back to the last century.

Colombia's long path towards peace was marked by the signing of a peace agreement in 2016 that was supposed to officially put an end to the longest-running conflict in modern Latin America. Even after more than four years, violence continues to plague the country. Although the conflict's origin is complex and multicausal, some of its root causes, such as socioeconomic inequality, limited political participation and the state's absence in several regions, remain unsettled. Since the effects of this conflict's prolongation go far beyond Colombian national borders, the international community has been morally obliged to cooperate with the national government to support the building of sustainable peace in the country by helping to tackle some of the structural causes of the conflict. Specifically, The European Trust Fund for Colombia (EUTF for Colombia) - established in December 2016 - embodies the EU's aim to contribute to sustainable development in the long run. The following study attempts to examine the EU peacebuilding strategy in Colombia in the aftermath of the conflict.