Reconciliation after Genocide, Mass Killing, or Intractable Conflict: Understanding the Roots of Violence, Psychological Recovery, and Steps toward a General Theory

Abstract

This article explores psychological avenues to reconciliation between groups. It describes the psychological changes in survivors, perpetrators, and passive bystanders in the course of the evolution of increasing violence and points to healing from the psychological wounds created as an essential component of reconciliation. It also explores the role of understanding the roots of genocide, and of violence between groups in general, in contributing to healing, to the creation of a shared history in place of the usually contradictory histories held by groups that have been in violent conflict, and to reconciliation in general. The role of processes that have been emphasized in the literature on reconciliation, such as truth, justice, and contact between groups are discussed. Bottom up approaches focusing on the population and top down approaches involving leaders and the media, and the importance of changes in institutions and structures are discussed. The article exemplifies many of the issues and processes by a discussion of the genocide in Rwanda, and by the description of interventions, ranging from work with small groups, including leaders and the media, to radio programs that aimed to further reconciliation, as well as research evaluating an intervention.

Reconciliación y construcción de la categoría víctima: Implicaciones para la acción política en Chile

“…Según Staub (2006), reconciliación se refiere a un proceso en el que víctimas y perpetradores (o miembros de grupos hostiles) aceptan al otro con el fin de generar relaciones constructivas. Dichas relaciones deben restaurar, de un modo u otro, el daño producido por las relaciones violentas del pasado e inaugurar el futuro en términos diferentes a los que, hasta ese momento, se dieron.…”

“…Se trata no de eliminar lo sucedido, sino de incorporar la experiencia traumática en una identidad continua no fracturada. Mediante el reconocimiento de las violaciones de Derechos Humanos ocurridas se busca resolver sus consecuencias en los individuos y en la sociedad; es decir, reparar el daño, borrar la marca, y si esto no es posible, por lo menos mitigar la intensidad de sus efectos (lira y Morales, 2005;Staub, 2006). Se pone en marcha el proceso de justicia restaurativa (Humphrey, 2005) en la que el estado terapéutico distribuye los recursos necesarios para esta reparación.…”

Interdependence versus Truth and Justice: Lessons from Reconciliation Processes in Maluku

“…10 For general reading on reconciliation and transitional justice, see Avruch (2010), Chapman (2009), Daly and Sarkin (2007), Dancy, Kim, and Wiebelhaus-Brahm (2010), Galtung (2005), Kymlicka and Bashir (2008), Lederach (1997), Licklider andBloom (2007), Long and Brecke (2003), Olsen, Payne, and Reiter (2010), Popovski and Serrano (2012), Pouligny, Simon, and Schnabel (2007) and Staub (2006). 11 Skepticism about "non-truth" and "non-justice" post-conflict arrangements in Indonesia can be found in Braithwaite, et.al.…”

Developing Transpersonal Resiliency: An Approach to Healing and Reconciliation in Zimbabwe

“…Many scholars (e.g., Herman, 1997;Smyth, 2002) have tried to understand and make suggestions for helping after this type of horror, while many psychologists have theorized about how to promote healing and reconciliation using general psychological principles (e.g., Kalayjian & Paloutzian, 2009;Staub, 2006), including some who have offered explicitly transpersonal psychological approaches (e.g., Cortright, 1997;Friedman, 2004). Our paper briefly documents one transpersonal approach to healing and reconciliation in Zimbabwe, namely Lament, Welcome, and Celebration (LAWECE), which attempts to facilitate resiliency after this national economic and humanitarian tragedy.…”