Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Contemporary Themes and Challenges (original) (raw)
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Deconstructing “reconciliation”: ideas on how to critically approach peacebuilding
Different formulas of truth, justice and reconciliation in post-conflict settings have been promoted by various peacebuilding agents with the aim of dealing with past atrocities and support the social reconstruction of divided societies. The different approaches to reconciliation (international, national, local and grassroots) affect the way peacebuilding is understood and assimilated by individuals residing in post-conflict settings. The aim of this paper is to critically look at the different meanings given to reconciliation in academic and policy literature in order to further explore the differences between problem-solving and critical approaches to peacebuilding. Starting from an understanding of the introduction of critical approaches to peace research and debates around liberal peacebuilding, the paper will discuss possible points of convergence and divergence in the understanding of reconciliation as reconstruction practice and present a framework for looking at the divide between top-down and bottom-up approaches to peacebuilding.
Third World Quarterly, 2023
A rich and complex literature on reconciliation has emerged in response to political transitions since the 1990s, yet reconciliation's value as a concept within peace studies is unclear. Definitions are contested, impressionistic, or overlap with other concepts, while 'reconciliation' remains politically contested in many conflict-affected societies. This article considers the four leading understandings of reconciliation: reconciliation as peacebuilding, reconciliation as transitional justice, reconciliation as forgiveness, and reconciliation as identity change. Each is assessed according to whether it is 1) conceptually coherent, and 2) likely to be credible to people in conflict. The article argues that by restricting reconciliation's meaning to a modified version of the fourth understandingreconciliation as transformed social identity the term can hold a distinct meaning in the peace studies field and direct a clear research agenda, as well as attract much less political criticism and misunderstanding.
In societies that are emerging from conflict, it is important to focus on the identification and the creation of tools that allow for nonviolent resolutions of the tensions that were aroused as a consequence of the violence. This article contributes to that project by offering reflections on the importance of a dialogic truth in the process of reconciliation within and between communities. This is addressed, in particular, through the exploration of a space where the views of both victims and perpetrators are considered and expressed through stories that are intended to affect both individuals and the community. The discussion brings together notions of social healing, theories of conflict transformation, and experiences of reconciliation, with a particular focus on the African context.
Reconciliation in Conflict-Affected Communities
2018
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RECONCILIATION AND JUSTICE IN POST CONFLICT CONTEXT SIS. 613.001, Fall 2007 Thursday 5:30-8:00 PM
2000
This course aims to expose students to the complexity and multi dimensional aspects of the relationship between reconciliation and justice in post conflict context. It also aims at developing a deeper understanding among students of the challenges involved in applying and designing a reconciliation project in a development context. Both, development agencies and practitioners (such as: CARE, CRS Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, UNCHR), found themselves facing the need to address issues related to social and psychological reconciliation (not only classical development issues (projects related to agricultural, small industries, health, etc.). At the same token, peace workers in these areas began dealing with the question of how can communities reconcile their relationships without addressing their basic human needs of security, shelter, food, etc?.
Coventry-Memorializing Peace and Reconciliation
Peace & Change, 2008
Motorists and others coming into Coventry, a medium-sized city in the center of the U.K., find themselves greeted by boundary markers that read “Welcome to the City of Coventry: City of Peace and Reconciliation.” The sign points to a local collective and municipal identity that is grounded in a particular interpretation of the history of the city. This representation constitutes an example of the manner in which a city's experience of the barbarism of war has been used to create a “peace message.” The aim of this paper is to explain how this particular mode of memorializing past suffering for peaceful purposes came about and how the particular interpretation and narrative associated with the peace identity of the city was reproduced throughout the latter half of the last century.
Community Reconciliation: The Wounds of War and the Praxis of Healing
Broader Perspectives on Aggression, Violence, and Terrorism, 2014
Conflict, Violence, Terrorism and their Prevention provides an inter-disciplinary and global perspective on aspects of aggression and violence. It explores the individual, group, and international processes and conditions by which violent conflict occurs. It shows the wide range and diffuse nature of contemporary violence and the need to approach it from many disciplines. The book also examines some multi-faceted solutions and responses to conflict. The optimistic conclusion from this work is that there are concrete and specific ways to address conflict and violence. Violence is neither inevitable nor innately determined. These 13 well-researched chapters use a variety of empirical and theoretical approaches drawn from psychology, political science, and anthropology. Its topics include terrorism, education, peace studies, and conflict resolution. Experts from eight countries share their findings and offer a comprehensive overview of violence and responses to it. The book builds on current thinking regarding causal factors, such as inequality, exclusion, lack of opportunity, or grievance. It broadens the conceptualization of the phenomena and links it with tangible measures that reduce conflict and promote peace. This book is an important source for researchers and students of conflict, violence, and peace. It is accessible to anyone with broad interests in studying aggressive behavior and methods of reducing it."