Building a peaceful society: Origins, prevention, and reconciliation after genocide and other group violence.

Abstract

The 20th century was a century of genocide and other great violence between groups within societies. Already at the beginning of the 21st century, there have been mass killings, civil wars, violent conflict, and terrorism. This article summarizes influences that tend to lead to intense group violence. It then considers prevention, stressing early prevention--and reconciliation as an aspect of prevention--and focusing on central principles and practices. The principles include developing positive orientations to previously devalued groups; healing from past victimization and promoting altruism born of suffering; moderating respect for authority; creating constructive ideologies; promoting understanding of the origins of violence, its impact, and avenues to prevention; promoting truth, justice, and a shared history; and raising inclusively caring, morally courageous children. Practices related to all of these are also discussed. The article stresses the role of progressive change, that is, of psychological, behavioral, and social evolution, in both extreme violence and positive relations between groups; the role of passive bystanders in the unfolding of violence; and the role of active bystandership in the prevention of violence, in the promotion of reconciliation, and in the development of harmonious societies. It emphasizes psychological processes but notes the importance of creating societal institutions. The author cites findings from both laboratory research and case studies, reviews interventions and their evaluation in Rwanda, and points to the need for further research.

Reconciliación Social como estrategia para la transformación de los conflictos socio-políticos, variables asociadas e instrumentos de medición

“…En un estudio realizado con jóvenes norirlandeses se analizó la calidad y la cantidad del contacto intergrupal; la primera variable emergió como predictora positiva de la reconciliación, cosa que no ocurrió con la cantidad de contacto (Kosić, Noor, & Mannetti, 2012). También se ha encontrado que el contacto entre jóvenes palestinos e israelíes supuso un incremento en las actitudes positivas hacia el exogrupo, incluso después de haber pasado un año (Staub, 2013).…”

The Social Psychology of Intractable Conflicts

“…However, others used harm and fairness even more intensely. Individual differences are of great importance in leading people to do harm, to help others, and apparently in judging whether their group has done harm (Staub 2013(Staub , 2015.…”

“…This phenomenon also seems present on the group level, and may arise of out "inclusive victim consciousness" (Vollhardt and Bilali in press, see also Vollhardt et al, this volume). Members of some groups that have been victimized have attempted to help other victimized groups or their members (Brysk and Wehrenfennig 2010;Staub 2013).…”

The Multiple Pathways to Trauma Recovery, Vindication, and National Reconciliation in Cambodia

“…This study has certain limitations. According to a leading genocide scholar Ervin Staub, experimental methodologies cannot be applied to genocides and mass killings (Staub, ). Hence, there exist neither empirical data on public perceptions of trauma victims in Cambodia nor clinical case studies that describe the clinical condition of civil parties (i.e., diagnosis of traumatic symptoms) both before and after the ECCC rulings.…”