In representative democratic systems, governments are expected to act in the interest of citizens in a responsive manner. A core feature of democracy settings is accountability which is needed for citizens to judge the propriety and effectiveness representatives’ actions and decisions. Generally, elections are seen as the main accountability mechanisms but they have shown to be insufficient for citizens to control their representatives and effective democracy. Despite its importance, literature on the field shows significant variance in its conceptualization what has hindered the development of a fixed tool for the systematic and rigorous analysis of accountability. This research focuses on the relationship between citizens and their representatives to hold them accountable –social accountability– by means other than elections. Qualitative content analysis was employed by this research to critically compare and analyse eight prominent tools developed to assess the level or quality of accountability. Furthermore, I argue that the Between Elections Democracy framework and its core concepts (e.g. responsiveness, ongoing interactions) can help to advance but so far the approach has not included the study of accountability. Thus, this research contributes to fill a gap in the BED framework by identifying social accountability as relevant phenomena to study and including other actors besides governments as representatives. Another significant contribution is the proposal of an initial set of indicators for a systematic and comparative evaluation of social accountability. Resumen: En sistemas de democracia representativa, se espera que los gobiernos actúen respondiendo a los intereses de los ciudadanos. Una característica esencial de establecimientos democráticos es la accountability (rendición de cuentas), la cual es necesaria para que los ciudadanos juzguen la efectividad de las actuaciones y decisiones de sus representantes. Generalmente, las elecciones son vistas como el principal mecanismo para juzgar y ‘exigir’ cuentas, pero éstas han mostrado ser insuficientes para que los ciudadanos ejerzan control sobre sus representantes y procurar una democracia efectiva. A pesar de su importancia, la literatura en este campo muestra una significativa variedad en la conceptualización, lo que ha obstaculizado el desarrollo de una herramienta para el estudio riguroso y sistemático de accountability. Esta investigación se enfoca en la relación entre ciudadanos y sus representantes para ejercer control sobre estos últimos – rendición de cuentas social- por medios distintos a las elecciones. El análisis cualitativo de contenido fue utilizado para críticamente, comparar y analizar ocho herramientas destacadas, desarrolladas para evaluar niveles o calidad de accountability. Incluso, este trabajo argumenta que el marco teórico de Democracia Entre Elecciones (BED en inglés) que incluye conceptos como receptividad e interacción permanente puede ayudar a avanzar en la tarea, pero hasta ahora no ha sido aplicado al estudio de rendición de cuentas. De esta manera, esta investigación contribuye al marco BED al incluir la rendición de cuentas como un fenómeno relevante. Otra importante contribución es la propuesta de indicadores para el análisis sistemático y comparativo de la rendición de cuentas.

This dissertation explores the relationship between corruption and social trust in Colombia through a mixed methods study that combines descriptive statistics and semi-structured interviews. Two hypotheses are established: first, that corruption is a cause of low social trust and second, that there are external factors that affect the relationship between corruption and social trust. The analysis confirms both hypotheses as results show that there is a strong correlation between the two factors, corruption is a cause of low social trust in the country, and three main external factors affect this relationship in the national context, which are culture, violence and drug trafficking, and Catholicism.

This paper concentrates specifically on the reintegration process of female ex-combatants and their role as peacebuilders in the aftermath of war. By privileging the personal experience of two female ex-combatants of guerrilla groups in Colombia, this thesis aims to explorer what are the main obstacles faced by these women in their process of reintegration into civilian life and how to strengthen the role of female ex-combatants as peacebuilders. I argue that DDR processes and reintegration programs are only one dimension of post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation. Notwithstanding, the real challenge is to demilitarize all aspects of social life including the people’s mind, the community, and the state with its hegemonic notions of security. Likewise, a reintegration process designed and implemented from a gender-sensitive approach can be an example of a practical and emancipatory project that brings more equitable relations between men and women in the aftermath of the war. Therefore, women's role as peacebuilders can be strengthened through a political reintegration process that emphasizes their transformative potential as influential citizens in the decision-making processes of their community in terms of reconciliation and national rehabilitation.

Abstract: Conflicts have a strong impact on land tenure, use, distribution, accessibility, and governance; consequently, a sustainable strategy for peacebuilding requires the set-up of land-based institutional arrangements from the peace negotiation phase onwards. Based on the concept of territorial peace, these arrangements have a key role in the reconstruction of the collective, productive, and symbolic functions of the territory after conflicts, and in addressing conflict root causes related to land inequality. This paper contributes to the development of the concept of territorial peace by providing a framework for its operationalization, based on three categories of arrangements, and testing it, to qualitatively explore and compare two comprehensive peace agreements: Colombia and the Philippines. Land may take the role of peacemaker in addressing territorial peace’s collective dimensions, especially when it is at the core of a peace agreement; however, its implementation remains volatile if it lacks trust, security, and technical capacity. Resumen: Los conflictos tienen un fuerte impacto en la tenencia, el uso, la distribución, la accesibilidad y la gobernanza de la tierra; en consecuencia, una estrategia sostenible para la consolidación de la paz requiere la creación de acuerdos institucionales basados en la tierra desde la fase de negociación de la paz. Basados en el concepto de paz territorial, estos acuerdos tienen un papel clave en la reconstrucción de las funciones colectivas, productivas y simbólicas del territorio después de los conflictos, y en el tratamiento de las causas profundas del conflicto relacionadas con la desigualdad de la tierra. Este trabajo contribuye al desarrollo del concepto de paz territorial proporcionando un marco para su operacionalización, basado en tres categorías de arreglos, y poniéndolo a prueba, para explorar y comparar cualitativamente dos acuerdos de paz integrales: Colombia y Filipinas. La tierra puede desempeñar el papel de pacificador al abordar las dimensiones colectivas de la paz territorial, especialmente cuando está en el centro de un acuerdo de paz; sin embargo, su aplicación sigue siendo volátil si carece de confianza, seguridad y capacidad técnica.

Abstract: This research paper describes and analyses the defining moments in the journey of healing from sexual violence in the context of armed conflict in Colombia. Following the experience of three women of Tamboreras del Cauca, it identifies the external and internal re- sources that facilitated their journey. Taking reconciliation as the approach and some models as reference, was possible to place this experience as an example of what it takes to restore people's story and relation- ships after trauma and how this could be a work in progress towards reconciliation in times of post-agreement in Colombia. Through in-depth interviewing, I could get close to their stories, and unfold from their narratives, what and how each element has contributed to their transformation, from the individual to the collective space. In particular, the role of the arts and metaphors to reach new levels to understand how to address traumatic experiences. From there, bring attention to the creative act and imagination behind reconciliation as a condition, in the log-term, to stable peace.

Impreso que Ceslo Rodríguez redacta en nombre de varios ciudadanos de Moniquirá, quienes se manifiestan en contra del gobierno de Rafael Núñez, a quien acusan de traición a la patria y tirano.

Compendio de documentos con los que el comandante Tomás Vallarino pretende demostrar su inocencia y buen nombre, los cuales fueron cuestionados por calumnias realizadas en una publicación pastusa en 1852.

Documento en el que Eladio Urisarri responde la publicación realizada por Francisco de Paula Santander en días anteriores la cual criticaba su provincia. El documento conserva la ortografía de la época.

Copia del proyecto de ley que busca reformar la constitución, con el fin de determinar la forma como debe estar conformado el Tribunal Superior del Estado de Cundinamarca y el tiempo que los magistrados deben estar en el poder.

Impreso en el que se critica el accionar político de Aquileo Parra y varios liberales porque a juicio de quien escribe, han generado divisiones al interior del Partido Liberal.