Revisiting Reconciliation

Studies and statistics show that around 50% of§conflicts tend to re-emerge within ten years since§the achievement of a peace agreement. War spurs war,§the literature seems to suggest, since often the§parties find themselves enclosed in what may be§defined a conflict trap.§The aim of the present work is twofold: it seeks to§explore reconciliation in§post-conflict scenarios, while trying to revisit the§concept in order to readdress it for breaking the§cycle of§vengeance and violence. The research includes the§specific§cases of the process of reconciliation after the§Holocaust and the Nanking Massacre.§Although strong peculiarities in each case were§found, the analysis also revealed similarities in§both German and Japanese societal and individual§reconciliations, specifically in escaping the§responsibility of those dramatic events. Furthermore,§in general a greater attention for§social-psychological aspects of reconciliation, such§as healing, mercy and forgiveness together with a§better understanding of the psychodynamics behind§mass atrocities are advocated. Finally, the primacy§of building a culture of conciliation against the curative character of reconciliation is reviewed.