By challenging more common analyses that point to the existence of a postconflict scenario in Colombia and those that resist the narrative of success both of which operate within the logic of presenceabsence of violence this book proposes instead that we think of postconflict in terms of the transformation of the rules on the use of violence. The analysis unfolds in two parts the first explores the conditions of possibility of the Colombian success story and the web of criteria legitimizing the success as well as the silencing mechanisms allowing for Colombia to circulate internationally as a formula to be replicated in other parts of the world the second focuses on the historicization of the mechanisms through which new rules are transmitted among the professionals of the public force specifically the transformations of military schools and training centers in Colombia from times of war to peace. The author argues that key to this transformation is a unique discursive articulation around the military professional which slides from citizensoldier to expertsoldier.ampnbspampnbsp