United States and European Union Online Media Diplomacy in Colombia: Mixed Messages in the Promotion of a Fragile Peace

Abstract

The signing of the revised Peace Agreement by the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and its ratification by the Colombian Congress in November 2016, marked not only a promising stage in the resolution of the armed conflict but also a challenging stage in the sustainability of multilateral peacebuilding efforts. Drawing on qualitative framing analysis, this article explores whether differing frames projected by the United States and the European Union shaped cooperative or competitive efforts for peace between the signing of the revised Peace Agreement and the forming of President Ivan Duque's new Colombian government by December 2018. The results highlight competitive U.S. and European Union priorities regarding the agreement; while the United States made it a function of the war on drugs, the European Union maintained fundamentally a commitment to its implementation.