The Political Studies Group develops research and training processes based on the interpretation of the processes of political transformation. These processes take place in the spheres of representation, society, and supranational interactions. In the case of Colombia, such transformations have been crossed by the persistence of the armed conflict and by initiatives for peace. Public institutions, political parties, and social organizations have responded to these initiatives through authoritarian and democratic strategies and practices. These are intermingled to produce a political order with the capacity to negotiate in the midst of disorder. Our commitment is oriented to the understanding of contexts of political transition from war to peace, in which new and old conflicts intersect with peace action. They are aimed at the resolution of historical problems of social injustice, as well as political and cultural exclusions.
Research Lines and/or Areas
Collective action, political cultures and citizenships.
Citizenship, culture and political practices.
Citizenships, Political Cultures and Subjectivities in transitional contexts.
Citizenships, political cultures and subjectivities.
Configuration of subjectivities: plural experiences and narratives of politics.
Criminality, criminal policy and violence.
Law and politics.
Forced displacement, war dynamics and citizen action.
Philosophy and political thought.
Government, public policies and sources of wealth.
War, armed conflict and social dynamics.
Memory, armed conflict and war.
Migrations, Borders and Political Reconfigurations.
Mobility, migration and forced displacement.
Political parties and electoral studies.
Territorial public policies, local governments and democracies.
Local Political Systems and Public Opinion Studies.
Latin American Social Science Council (CLACSO). Grupo de trabajo Educación y vida en común (Education and life in common Work Group).
Consortium for Regional Integration and Social Cohesion-Social Elevation (RISC-RISE).
Latin American Political Science Association (ALACIP).
Colombian Association of Political Science (ACCPOL).
Inter-institutional platforms: Political Monitoring in Antioquia Sepa, Voices of Peace For a Reconciled Country.
Norwegian Refugee Council.
Universidad los Andes.
Highlighted Projects
Old and new human mobilities: Colombia-Venezuela cross-border dynamics. A look compared to the "North Central American triangle" and Mexico.
Electoral pedagogy, local elections, and political participation in the post-agreement. The case of the East of Antioquia.
Analysis of the configuration and operation of the transition mechanisms in relation to territorial peace and the eventual democratization of local contexts in the municipalities of Ituango and Remedios (Antioquia).
Management of social protest in Medellin 2010 - 2020.
Key Research Findings
The group has participated in the design, formulation, evaluation, analysis and dissemination of local public policies aimed at the LGBT population, forced displacement, youth, recreation and sport, as well as disaster risk management.
In the last ten years, the group has generated new knowledge that has circulated in nearly 50 articles in specialized journals, as well as in 22 books and book chapters.
Between 2011 and 2020 the researchers have contributed to the research education of 179 students through consultancy for graduate and undergraduate work in Political Science, young researchers (Colciencias), students in the education process, and assistants in research projects, interns and interns.
Services and/or Products Portfolio
Formulation, evaluation, and analysis of public policies.
Comparative analysis of parties, elections, voters, and political culture.
Systematization of experiences and socio-political and institutional processes.
Pedagogical, political, and memory processes for the construction of peace and the strengthening of democracy in the territories.
Elaboration of timelines on organizational processes, memories, and resistances.
