Carl Schmitt’s distinction between friend and enemy in the Colombian armed conflict

Colombian history has been heavily marked by a longstanding internal armed conflict of decades, accompanied by a remarkable political, and even moral discourse of the friend and the enemy. The distinct phases of the distinction between friend and enemy have reflected either a political tension between the involved actors, or a brutal confrontation that has led until the present time to a devastating outcome. However, the radicalization of the enmity, especially characteristic of the last decades, has attenuated with the enhanced desire of peacebuilding in the country. In this sense, the Peace Accords of 2016 can be considered as an important milestone towards peaceful coexistence and as a vital step in the reconsideration of the friendenemy distinction. This paper attempts to analyze the distinction of friend and enemy in the Colombian armed conflict, exploring the causes of its emergence, examining the most intense phases of enmity during the conflict and evaluating the possibilities of reconciliation.