Reflections on the use of revolutionary violence: The case of the FARC-EP

Abstract

Violence and politics have always been related throughout history. The use of weapons as an instrument of political transformation has been characteristic of revolutionary processes. However, today's times mark new realities, challenges and contexts where violence is no longer the only, nor the best alternative. This article seeks to investigate the futility of revolutionary violence today, from a look at the FARC-EP. It starts with a framework on the relationship between violence and politics. It raises some of the main discourses that have served to justify the just wars in general and revolutionary violence in particular. Finally, a tour through of the evolution of the FARC-EP is made, pointing out how it has been changing its actions and its speeches, to the point of questioning the validity of violence as a method of political action, reconsidering its strategies and considering, in recent times, abandonment of the armed route.