Violence and conflict are structures that appear continuously in the history of Latin America and have also become drivers of social change. From the time of Latin American independence, violence was manifested as a product of both colonial inheritance and inequality, as well as the confrontation of new political projects inspired from Europe and adapted locally. These unresolved conflicts dragged on from the 19th century to the 21st century, readapting themselves as a product of new conflicts generated by Modernity. However, the Latin American region has also generated its own ways of confronting and resolving conflicts and violence.

In this collection of texts from CIHAC as the Central American and Caribbean section of the Maria Sibylla Merian Center for Advanced Latin American Studies (CALAS) we propose to explore how diverse social and political actors use their agency to generate spaces for dialogue and from there change conflict and its causes in a transnational and transdisciplinary perspective. We believe that there is an innovative potential for addressing social, political and cultural conflicts in Latin America. In what ways have these possibilities been a model for experiences outside Latin America? How do these experiences influence the "grand theory" on conflict, violence and the culture of peace? Our vision of conflict and its solutions is expressed holistically by integrating aspects of ecological transformation and social inequalities into our analysis.