Education and citizenship in ColombiaVicente OieniIntroductionThe major period for democracy's breakthrough in Latin merica !as" !ithout a doubt"that ofthe#$'s% Thefragilityofthisprocess" ho!e&er"isundeniable%'ut e&enthosecountries that didn't suffered dictatorial rule" e%g% Colombia go&erned by parliamentaryrule" shared the same problems of lame institutions" human rights &iolations and lack ofcitizens' participation% Inthis country" a stable formal democracy coe(ists today !ith anannualtollofthirtythousandassassinations% Theofficialdiscourseisbasedupontheprinciplesofaliberalandpluralisticdemocracy) corruption" ho!e&er" penetrates themost subtle functions of the entire political system%InColombia" youngcitizens" !hogro!upkno!ingtheofficialdiscoursebyheart" are confronted daily!ith distinct discourses !hich sometimes strengthendemocratic principles" but more often than not" !eaken it%'ackgroundVery little research has been conducted on the theme of citizenship in the different fieldsof social science% The !orks of *+ning ,-.#/" -.#0" -../1" nrup ,-..-" -..2"-..3 a"-..3 b1" 4+rner ,-..21"Vogel ,-..-1 and Chiaramonte,-.#.1 are e(ceptions% ll ofthese !ere conducted from a historical perspecti&e and studied different aspects on theissue% It is !iththe same perspecti&e inmindthat I include a first tentati&e ofcomparati&eanalysis bet!een Citizenship and 5ational Identity%I am !riting this !orkin collaboration !ith 6oland nrup% The results of this research !ill be published duringthe current year% In the field of political sciences" the !orks of Lechner ,-.##" -..-" -..7" -..81)4enendez9Carri:n,-..-1 openne!andpromisingperspecti&es% ;o!e&er" on therelation bet!een citizenship and education" and political socialisation" &ery little has beendone in Latin merica and Colombia is not an e(ception%Thisisthereason!hy!efindthis field ofstudiesparticularly interesting% uently" the subject !as left!ithout his former nuclear centre) the latter ha&ing undergone major positionalmodifications entailing a multiplicity of articulations% Thus bringing about a ne! idea forthe formation of identities%This idea of the formation of identities enlightens the interpretation of the recentsocial mo&ements related to gender" nationality" and ethnicity% The recurrent o&erlappingof these &arious componentsFidentities is a characteristic of these mo&ements%To!ards a ne! idea of citizenshipThe recognitionof the &alidityCof the principles of libertyande>uality" aims atconstructing a '!e'" a chain of e>ui&alence among their demands so as to articulate themthrough the principle of democratic e>ui&alenceC" is indispensable to the e(istence of ne!>uality type of citizenship%2 This is" by no means" an attempt at reducing &arious types ofidentities to one and only" but a desire to transform citizenship into Ca problematic thatconcei&esof thesocialagent not asaunitarysubject but asthearticulationof anensemble of subject positions" constructed !ithin specific discourses and al!aysprecariously and temporarily sutured at the intersection of those subject positions%C/ Aocialisation process and citizenship formation?olitical socialisation is particularly difficult to define" inasmuch CapprenticeshipC processis closely subjected to political contingencies and because no more than a fraction of theprocess is assumed by school education% =i&en the idea that political socialisation aimsat inducingachildor ayouthtoaccept aninstitutionalorderandtoconformtoitsnorms" thenumberof socialisationprocesses canbe e>ualtothat ofe(istingpoliticalmodels%ualifiesanytypeofcommunication !hose recipient is a youth attending school and it is !ithin the frames ofthe curriculum% The bearers of this communication maybe books of CitizenshipEducation" ;istoryor Literature% @ictionandpoetry"music"graphicarts" leafletsandassignments !ill also be considered as such%b1 Other actorsInder the heading other actors I include any rele&ant actor !ho is a carrier of adiscourse !hich content are independent" or differ in some !ay in relation to the official%It could be the case of discourses that deliberately try to be an alternati&e to the official"in other !ords" to operate as a contra9discourse" or simply to gi&e the official discourse aradical interpretation" or simply to promote a more acti&e and engage citizen% The onlydiscourses that !ill be considered" are those that directly and indirectly reach the school%E(amples of this kind of organisations arei%CI5E?,CentrodeInformaci:nyEducaci:n?opular1G TheCI5E? playsa&ery significant role in Colombia" because they combine research projects !ith educationofteachers% Theyorganise!orkshopsandprogrammesofinformationabout humanrights and political rights% It is also there !here teacher's unions ha&e a place to discusstheir acti&ities and e(periences% The CI5E?" !ithout doubts" reunite some of the mainactors in&ol&ed in the education of citizens%ii% Ciudadanos en formaci:nG is an organisation for ci&ic education leaded by the4ayor of'ogotJ"ntanas4ockus% ;imselfauni&ersityprofessor" !hombecameapolitician" and as such he is promoting the de&elopment of the sense of ci&ilresponsibility trough participation in the community% This type of action represents a &eryimportant case" because the e(emplary character of the initiati&es that 4ockus promote%I suspect that his e(ample" can hardly be ignored at the school le&el% n additional reasonfor analysing 4ockusK !orkis that it deliberately tend to break the di&ision bet!een thepublic and the pri&ate realms In our research programme Citizenship and ?olitical Culture " mparo4enendez9Carri:nhasalreadymadeapointofthe4ockus' actionrele&ance% ,-..81uia" &ol%LD" 5Smero 773" julioFseptiembre" 4edellLn" -..-;all" Atuart" The cuestion of cultural identity" in 4odernity and its futures" ;all" Atuart" ;eld"Ea&id" and 4c =re!" Tony" ?olity ?ress and Open Ini&ersity" -..7Rohnston Cono&er" ?amela and Aearing" Eonald E%Eemocracy" Citizenship and the Atudy of ?olitica Aocializationin Ee&eloping Eemocracy" A=E" London" -../*+nig" ;ans9RoachimALmbolos 5acionales y ret:rica polLtica de la IndependenciaG el caso de 5ue&a=ranada en Inge 'uisson ,ed%1 ?roblemas de la formaci:n del estado y de lanaci:n en ;ispanoamBrica 9 '+lau" *+ln" -.#/*+nig" ;ans9Roachim4etJforas ysLmbolos de la legitimidad e identidad nacional en 5ue&a =ranada,-#-$9-#2$1"mBrica dellostato colonialeallostato nazione " &ol% II",ed%1ntonio nnino" @ranco ngeli" 4ilano" -.#0Lechner" 5orbertLos patios interiores de la democracia" Aubjeti&idad y ?olitica" @ondo de culturaEcon:mica" Aantiago" Chile" -.##Lechner" 5orbertEl Ciudadano y lo ?Sblico" Le&iatJn" 5O/29//" 4adrid" -..-Lechner" 5orbert6efle(iones sobre el Estado EemocrJtico" Le&iatJn" 5O/." 4adrid" -..7Lechner" 5orbertLaproblemJticadelain&ocaci:ndelasociedadci&il" 6e&ista@oro" 5O7#"'ogotJ"-..84ac =regor" A%R%" @elipe" E% ,ed%1" Violence in the ndean 6egion" ?E?" Lima" -..24ejLa" 4arco 6aSl;acia un nue&o modelo educati&o" 6e&ista Ini&ersidad de ntio>uia" &ol% LDII"5Smero 727" abrilFjulio" 4edellLn" -..24enBndez9Carri:n" mparo?ararepensar lacuesti:ndelagobernabilidaddesdelaciudadanLa% Eilemas"opciones yapuntes para unproyecto% 6e&ista Latinoamericana de CienciasAociales% Aegunda Bpoca" Vol% -" -..-" pp% 0.9.#4ouffe" Chantal" Eemocratic Citizenship and the ?olitical Community" in Eimentions of 6adical Eemocracy"?luralism" Citizenship" Community" Verso London" -..74ouffe" Chantal@eminismo"ciudadanLaypoliticademocrJticaradical%Eebate@eminista" 5O0"marzo -..2" 4e(ico% Theoriginal &ersion !as published in @eminist Theorizethe ?olitical" ed% Rudith 'utler and Roan