Political Science Commons^™

Review Of After Genocide: Memory And Reconciliation In Rwanda, Selina Gallo-Cruz

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Selected Essays On Peacebuilding And Reconciliation, Rita Merhej, Bashar Rahme

The Journal of Social Encounters

This paper is a review of selected essays on reconciliation and peacebuilding in conflict-affected and post-conflict societies delineating the fundamental key factors that promote peacebuilding, and the approaches to reconciliation which have proved to be effective over the past 20 years. Acknowledgement of wrongdoing, empathy and the promotion of open dialogue stand out as the factors common to all reconciliation initiatives. The paper examines five approaches to peacebuilding, namely contact theory, restorative justice, making apologies, sharing narratives and reconciliation through education, conceptualizing each in light of its benefits, as well as its challenges, with examples from the real world illustrating …

A Christian Case For Racial Reparations, Daniel Philpott

The Journal of Social Encounters

National healing for the persistent wounds of racism, America’s original sin, can be advanced through a national apology, reparations and forgiveness. The frequent practice of apologies and reparations around the world in the past generation provide precedent for such measures. Christianity’s teaching of reconciliation and accompanying notions of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and atonement provide a strong moral basis for these measures and resonate with the rationales through which the United States’s greatest champions of civil rights and equality have fought against racism and slavery. Because racism and slavery were supported with the sanction of the state, in the name of …

Review Of Nelson Mandela: Peace Through Reconciliation, Gary Prevost

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Oscar Romero And Juan Gerardi: Truth, Memory, And Hope, Scott Wright

The Journal of Social Encounters

Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and Guatemalan Bishop Juan Gerardi were prominent defenders of human rights during the civil wars that characterized their two countries during the 1980s and 1990s. By their public proclamations and prophetic witness, they laid the foundation for the United Nations Truth Commission in El Salvador, the United Nations Commission for Historical Clarification in Guatemala, and the Recovery of the Historic Memory (REMHI) project in Guatemala. Inspired by the need to dignify the victims of state-sponsored violence by refusing to forget, and accompanying the survivors in their struggle for justice, Romero and Gerardi were instrumental in uncovering …

Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, And The Quest For Justice And Reconciliation, Hak Joon Lee

The Journal of Social Encounters

This paper studies Marin Luther King, Jr.’s and Desmond Tutu’s strivings for justice and reconciliation as the leaders of movements against white racist systems in the US and South Africa. Despite their differences in terms of nationality, age, religious denomination, and geography, the paper demonstrates how King’s and Tutu’s quests were grounded in the distinctive communal ethics informed by their Christian faith and their shared spiritual heritage as African peoples, which emphasize community, the ubiquity of religion, the moral order of the universe, and hopefulness. Contrasting their communal approach to a secular rational ethical approach to justice and peace, the …

Book Review: Remembrance And Forgiveness: Global And Interdisciplinary Perspectives On Genocide And Mass Violence, Amina Hadžiomerović

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The volume Remembrance and Forgiveness, edited by Ajlina Karamehić-Muratović and Laura Kromják, brings together a diversity of disciplines, authors, and cultural contexts to discuss the legacies of the post-Holocaust era genocides by focusing on the (de)mobilisation of memory in seeking truth, justice, and forgiveness. The book provides a compendious overview of the social, historical, and political contexts behind the insurgencies and gives a better sense of understanding of (the obstacles to) the healing process and reconciliation in the global frame.

Jesus, The Last Scapegoat: A Chinese-Indonesian Christian Theological Imagination For Peacebuilding And Reconciliation, Hans Harmakaputra

The Journal of Social Encounters

After enduring the systematic oppression under Suharto’s three-decade regime (1967-1998) in Indonesia through discriminatory policies, Chinese-Indonesians suffered an enormous loss in the 1998 riots that signified the end of Suharto’s regime. Many Chinese-Indonesians were killed, raped, and displaced. A few years later, the new government abolished the discriminatory policies against Chinese-Indonesians, and they started to enjoy equality as citizens of Indonesia. However, negativities that resulted from the traumatic experiences cannot be diminished easily. This essay suggests a Chinese-Indonesian Christian theological imagination of Jesus’ crucifixion that aims to deal with communal trauma and contribute to the peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts. This …

Amani Mashinani Conflict Transformation Model: Bishop Korir’S Legacy On Peace And Reconciliation, Elias O. Opongo, S.J

The Journal of Social Encounters

This chapter is about the story of the late Bishop Cornelius Kipng’eno Arap Korir who stood up for peace and reconciliation in the midst of numerous interethnic conflicts. Bishop Korir, who was then the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, lived the experience of inter-ethnic violence between the Marakwet, Pokot, Kikuyu, and the Kalenjin communities. As a person from the Kalenjin ethnic community, he had to learn to distant himself from the abrasive political rhetoric and violent actions and embrace the path of the Gospel of Jesus instead. He started what he called Amani Mashinani (Kiswahili for 'peace at …

Volume 1, Issue 2 (2017) Inaugural Issue

International Journal on Responsibility

Contents:

Introduction: Terry Beitzel, Types of Responsibility: Challenges and Opportunities

3 – 5 Howard Zehr, Restorative Justice and the Gandhian Tradition.

6 – 26 Richard E. Rubenstein, Responsibility for Peacemaking in the Context of Structural Violence.

27 – 64 Marc Pufong, Terror, Insecurity, State Responsibility and Challenges: Yesterday and Today?

65 – 77 Ron Kraybill, Responsibility, Community and Conflict Resolution in an Age of Polarization.

78 – 96 John Fairfield, Beyond non-violence to courtship.

97 – 98 Call for papers for forthcoming issues of the International Journal on Responsibility and instructions for authors.

“I Forgive To Forget”: Implications For Community Restoration And Unity In Northern Uganda, Julaina A. Obika, Emilio Ovuga

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

As the people in northern Uganda begin to rebuild their lives after the devastating war that lasted more than twenty years, reconciliation and community restoration becomes paramount. Forgiveness of wrongs committed and past hurts is an important vehicle to achieve reconciliation and co-existence in a society that is wrought with past social upheavals, fragile relationships and painful memories. This study aimed at exploring and understanding the ‘local’ meanings and notions of forgiveness and its importance in re-cementing a ‘broken’ Acholi society. Personal accounts of wrongs committed and processes of forgiveness were recorded, edited and shared with the public in Awach …

Appraising Positive Aspects Of Shared History Through Contact- A Preliminary Model Of Reconciliation Among Hindus And Muslims Of The Kashmir Valley, Sramana Majumdar Dr

Peace and Conflict Studies

The long-standing political conflict in the Kashmir Valley has resulted in identity based polarization and subsequent displacement of communities. Reconciliation between Hindus (also known as Pandits) and Muslims is viewed as an important step in any sustainable effort towards conflict resolution and peacebuilding in the Valley. This paper begins by examining the much debated territorial and cultural concept of ‘Kashmiriyat’ and instead proposes an alternative lens that emphasizes on shared history as opposed to common identity. We approach reconciliation through a socio-psychological lens by examining the role of a shared cultural past and historical coexistence- or simply put as shared …

Genocide Denial: Perpetuating Victimization And The Cycle Of Violence In Bosnia And Herzegovina (Bih), Genevieve Parent

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The denial of the Armenian genocide led to devastating effects on both the individual and collective levels which in many cases were passed down to their descendants. In BiH, many of the facts are not denied per se but the interpretation is such that genocidal intent is denied. While some research has been done on the consequences of trauma among BiH survivors, no in-depth studies are found on the effects of denial on the survivors’ psychosocial well-being. This article aims to fill in the gaps based on in-depth-interviews carried out since 2011 in BiH, investigating the cognitive, affective and behavioral …

Reconciliation And The Rule Of Law: The Changing Role Of International War Crimes Tribunals, Oriana Lavilla

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This paper explores the relationship between international war crimes tribunals and reconciliation in post-conflict societies. The aim of the present study was to examine how the role of international war crimes tribunals has changed in the peacebuilding process since the early years after World War II. Due to the evolving nature of international law and the international criminal legal system, international tribunals have become increasingly recognized as an integral component of peacebuilding in post-conflict societies. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was the first international tribunal with a mandate to contribute to international peace and security. The …

To Forgive And Forget: How Reconciliation And Amnesty Legislation In Afghanistan Forgives War Criminals While Forgetting Their Victims, Sara L. Carlson

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

More than three decades of war and hundreds of thousands killed or brutalized by the actions of warlords and insurgent commanders vying for power comprise the backdrop of modern Afghanistan. As Afghanistan continues toward a new era, seeking democracy in a country where tribal affiliations and ethnic groups often usurp any sense of patriotism, the reconciliation of armed fighters while providing an adequate grievance process for victims of war crimes must take priority in the process adopted to unify the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. This comment explores the current attempt by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to provide a system …

“Slippery Slopes: On Why We Need The Icc”, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Peace, reconciliation, and restorative justice: these are the albatrosses that international criminal law (ICL) must (unfairly) bear. Ian Paisley, MP from Northern Ireland and former United Nations and European Union peace envoy, echoes in a New York Times op-ed contribution the aspirations heaped onto the International Criminal Court (ICC). In March, the ICC convicted Thomas Lubanga for war crimes and the conscription of children as soldiers; justice has been done, Paisley claims. Yet the ICC was "intended as an instrument of peace," and "there is no peace" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On this ground he concludes, …

Justice After War: Sri Lanka And The Rights And Duties Of A Vanquisher, William Paul Simmons

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Human rights scholars, attorneys, and activists will deservedly focus on the human rights abuses committed by the Sri Lankan military as the decades - long civil war against the Tamil Tigers came to a crushing end this past spring. The military’s brutality, especially its failure to discriminate combatants from non-combatants, should be investigated by both domestic and transnational institutions. It remains to be seen whether such wanton disregard for civilian collateral damage will become the norm for regimes embroiled in civil wars and present yet another realpolitik threat to humanitarian law, or will Sri Lanka and other regimes face accountability …

July Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

What Next for Sri Lanka's 2.5 Million Tamils? by Amantha Perera. Time. May 26, 2009.

and

How to Defeat Insurgencies: Sri Lanka's Bad Example by Bobby Ghosh. Time, May 20, 2009.

The War Goes On - No Reconciliation At This Stage, Anja Mihr

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The victorious Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaska has been quite bold to pass a reconciliation note after he declared the thirty year war over. Can he be taken seriously?

Moving Beyond Conflict In Sri Lanka: The Economic Rights Dimension, Shareen Hertel

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Much of the literature on transitional justice underplays the role of economic rights in shoring up peace. The case of Sri Lanka demonstrates the urgency of addressing them. Until a month ago, Sri Lanka was the country with Asia’s longest running civil war. Since independence in 1947, the island nation has been wracked by conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority—a conflict that has eroded political stability and aggravated internal inequalities. The struggle was marked not only by inter-ethnic and religious tensions but also by a fight for control over land and resources.

Moving In The Open Daylight, Nicola Colbran

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The road ahead for Sri Lanka is certainly not easy. Although the government has declared that the LTTE ( Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) has been defeated, this “victory” has come at a high cost for civilian lives and democratic values. Decades of instability and violence have given rise to deep rooted and sustained human rights violations. Thousands of Sri Lankans have been displaced, killed or wounded, and are malnourished and traumatized after months of extended fighting between the two sides.

Reconciliation And The Therapeutic Impulse: What Does It Mean To “Heal”?*, Elizabeth S. Dahl

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Amnesty after Atrocity? Healing Nations after Genocide and War Crimes. By Helena Cobban. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2007.

and

Reconciliation in Divided Societies: Finding Common Ground. By Erin Daly and Jeremy Sarkin. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.

Healing is widely seen as an essential component of socio-political reconciliation, helping to promote a more peaceable future after violent conflict. At the same time, however, little is known about what exactly “healing” means to traumatized people and whether particular reconciliation efforts do indeed constitute healing. Instead, social healing is described usually in metaphorical terms, compared to the way …

Human Rights Investigation And Dialogue, Bronwyn Leebaw

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Shattered Voices: Language, Violence, and the Work of Truth Commissions by Teresa Godwin Phelps. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. 180pp.

and

International Citizens’ Tribunals: Mobilizing Public Opinion to Advance Human Rights by Arthur Jay Klinghofer and Judith Apter Klinghofer. New York, NY: Palgrave, 2002. 272pp.

Much Truth About Truth Commissions, Marten Zwanenburg

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Unspeakable Truths: Confronting State Terror and Atrocity by Priscilla B. Hayner. New York: Routledge, 2002. 344pp.

Trends. The Truth In Northern Ireland, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the recent Northern Ireland peach agreement.