New Article: Embedding Relational Restorative Justice in Colombia’s Total Peace Negotiations
This Think Piece argues that Colombia’s Total Peace policy represents a pivotal opportunity to embed relational restorative justice as the guiding framework for building a sustainable and inclusive peace. Drawing on ongoing negotiations between the Colombian government and Comuneros del Sur in Nariño, it shows how justice can be reimagined not as a discrete phase of post-conflict repair but as the relational architecture that connects and sustains the entire peace process. By centering relationships, participation, and contextual responsiveness, relational restorative justice transforms peacebuilding from a technical exercise into a process of co-construction rooted in dignity, trust, and shared responsibility. The paper identifies seven relational dimensions already emerging in practice and proposes six strategic recommendations for embedding them more intentionally in negotiation design and implementation. It concludes that when justice is enacted relationally, peace becomes not a settlement to be reached but a living process of transformation through which people, communities, and institutions rebuild together.