Successive governments in Colombia have sought alternately to militarily defeat the guerrillas, bring them to the negotiating table and detach them from the narcos. Amnesties have been offered, peace proposals made and new ideas put forward. None of these strategies have worked. Hal Klepak explains why peace remains elusive.

Hope is gradually fading for Colombia's peace plan, put forward nearly two years ago on the accession of President Andres Pastrana. It was the fifth such initiative in 20 years and was invested with great hope by the Colombian people, tired after 50 years of civil war and insurgency. Why is this plan failing, as its predecessors did? Why have the Colombian guerrilla movements of the Cold War years not disappeared? Why is peace so elusive?

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