| dc.description.abstract | With the end of military dictatorships in the Southern Cone and the signing of peace accords
that followed the civil wars in Central America, most violent conflicts in Latin America have been
considered to belong to the past. Consequently, the region has been overlooked by peace
researchers. Nevertheless, for many countries within the region, violence has only further escalated over
the last 30 years. Countries such as Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico are now considered
to be some of the most violent countries in the world.4 Fuelling both violent conflict and the
maintenance of structural injustice are economic inequalities and impunity, lack of the rule of law, and
continuing human rights abuses. These issues have prompted various theoretical explanations. A peace
research perspective, however, which challenges prevalent definitions of war, conflict, and peace, is
often missing from these explanations. | |
