What Part Do Apology, Truth and Forgiveness Play in Reconciliation?

Gavin Fairbairn, Seidu Alidu, Ayeray Medina Bustos, Dave Webb

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

The term ‘reconciliation’ is commonly used in relation to processes instituted after conflicts, in which human rights abuses have occurred. Typically such processes focus on the attempt by those who in the past have mainly communicated with one another through violence, to communicate in other ways, in order to resolve disputes between them. However, there is little agreement about what ‘reconciliation’ consists in - about whether, for example, it is a process, an outcome, or both. Reconciliation is most often discussed in political contexts, but it also has related uses at both interpersonal and intrapersonal levels. For example, when human rights have been abused, self-reconciliation will usually involve those who have suffered deep psychological scars, accepting and perhaps coming to terms with, what they have gone through. Something similar is true, also, for those who have perpetrated violence and been responsible for suffering on the part of others, though their task may be even more difficult than that of those who seek to reconcile their views of themselves, with the truth about what they have done. In this paper, though we say a little about the nature of reconciliation, we do not attempt the mammoth task of defining it, or even the marginally more accessible task of mapping out the range of ways that it is used, or the range of work that it is asked to do. Rather, we focus on the place of apology, forgiveness and truth in reconciliation processes. In doing so, we make use of some ideas from a consideration of the importance, for human beings, of the stories we tell.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationFrom Communication Landscapes To Bullying Battlegrounds
PublisherBrill
Pages197-205
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)9781848882805
ISBN (Print)9789004371460
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • apology
  • empathy
  • empathy
  • forgiveness
  • narrative
  • Reconciliation
  • story
  • truth

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