Book launched on Colombia’s transition

A book, ‘A great perhaps? Colombia: Conflict and Convergence,’ chronicling Colombia’s transition from a situation of conflict, governance and stability was launched at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, last Thursday. Speaking at the event done in collaboration with the South African High Commission, Abuja, Ambassador Louis Mnguni said the book emphasised the dialectical relation between security […]

A book, ‘A great perhaps? Colombia: Conflict and Convergence,’ chronicling Colombia’s transition from a situation of conflict, governance and stability was launched at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, last Thursday.
Speaking at the event done in collaboration with the South African High Commission, Abuja, Ambassador Louis Mnguni said the book emphasised the dialectical relation between security and development. 
He said: “If you want to bring about peace, you cannot focus on security alone. Both have to work together to achieve success.”
The envoy urged an improvement on methods used by the government of Colombia by countries facing similar situations. 
Greg Mills who spoke on behalf of the authors of the book expressed delight that it was a South African driven initiative which dragged an American, Australian and British author into the project.
“This is sign of what can be done through collaboration and bringing people together in terms of different experiences in academics, analysis, military and the like,” he said.
Co-authored by Dickie Davis, David Kilcullen, Greg Mills and David Spencer, described as ‘four international specialists with policy and practical expertise in counterinsurgency campaigns in Colombia and elsewhere,’ the book explains the steps the Colombian government has taken to manage such a rapid and positive turnaround.
It is based on field-work in Colombia’s regions and provides a history of the conflict, comparing it to other historical and contemporary case-studies, whilst examining the war from the perspectives of the government and the guerrillas, delves into the development of special Colombian capabilities – notably in intelligence and the use of airpower and special forces. It goes on to explain the economic dimension in terms of historical exclusion and ongoing attempts at growth and inclusion.
The work, funded by South Africa’s Brenthurst Foundation, concludes with an assessment of Colombia’s prospects, raising the question: can the combination of improved security, a flourishing economy and the peace process offer an opportunity to finally translate Colombia from, in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s words, ‘a great perhaps’ into something more permanent?
The book, which was earlier presented to Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, will be officially out in November according to a post on hurstpublishers.com.