Polarization and fatalism: Social beliefs in Colombian citizens regarding the political negotiation of the armed conflict

Polarization, delegitimization, and fatalism act as psychosocial barriers to peace in Colombia and are part of the ethos of conflict. This qualitative study aimed to understand the social beliefs of citizens of nine urban centers in Colombia regarding the Peace Process between the Colombian State and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP). There were 256 subjects, 127 women and 129 men, who participated in a semistructured and in-depth interview during the second half of 2018 and the first half of 2020. The results were organized according to four categories that emerged in the analysis: (a) An idealized conception of peace that opposes a concrete and real political negotiation of the armed conflict; (b) delegitimization of the adversary, which turns them into an absolute enemy to be eliminated; (c) polarization, which was exacerbated by politics; and (d) fatalism that expresses impotence in the face of a naturalized violence. All this results in a conflict ethos that becomes a psychosocial barrier to peace.