Violencia política en Colombia: Paradojas e institucionalización de una disfunción

in this article we aim to open a debate regarding the operational aspects of violence in the processes of integration, social disintegration and the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion of colombian politics. we argue that violence seems to define, in this country, not just the allocation of resources for political participation, but also who and under what circumstance is entitled to participate. the paper begins with a critical reconstruction of the approach by orlando fals borda in the classic work the violence in colombia, noting the limits of functionalist analysis of violence, then continues with a reflection about the difficulties inherent in defining the concepts of violence and political violence, and ends by proposing a reinterpretation of the colombian reality from two rationalities related processes, mechanisms and devices operating in violence in the country: its functionalization and institutionalization.