This book tells the story of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó an emblematic
grassroots social movement of peasant farmers who unusually declared themselves 'neutral' to
Colombia's internal armed conflict in the north-west region of Urabá. It reveals two core
narratives in the Community's collective identity which Burnyeat calls the 'radical' and the
'organic' narratives. These refer to the historically-constituted interpretative frameworks
according to which they perceive respectively the Colombian state and their relationship with
their natural and social environments. Together these two narratives form an 'Alternative
Community' collective identity comprising a distinctive conception of grassroots
peace-building. This study centered on the Community's socio-economic cacao-farming project
offers an innovative way of approaching victims' organizations and social movements through
critical post-modern politics and anthropology. It will become essential reading toLatin
American ethnographers and historians and all interested in conflict resolution and
transitional justice. Read the author's blog drawing on the book here: http: blogs.lse.ac.uk
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