Kjell-Ake Nordquist
Список книг автора Kjell-Ake NordquistReconciliation as Politics
Is «political reconciliation» a new tool for peace-building and justice–in peace processes and other complex social reconstruction efforts-after dictatorship or civil wars? Or is it just another term for established practices like negotiation, conflict resolution, and cooperation? Reconciliation processes after conflict and war can be very different in form and content. Kjell-Ake Nordquist analyzes the concept of reconciliation from a political perspective and outlines an understanding of its characteristics in a comparison with its closest «conceptual relatives»: forgiveness and conflict resolution. In addition, Nordquist specifically addresses the structural dimensions of reconciliation, and formulates an understanding of reconciliation that identifies a specific contribution to the settlement of political conflicts. In this way, political reconciliation has the potential to be an approach that, along with other activities, contributes to more complete and genuine peace processes.
An Unlikely Dilemma
In a world where armed conflict, repression, and authoritarian rule are too frequent, human rights and peace-building present key concepts and agendas for the global and local struggle for peace and development.
But are these agendas congruent? Do they support each other? Many organizations, states, and individuals have experienced how priorities of one agenda create friction with the other. For instance, are justice and reconciliation incompatible goals? If not, do they lead to counteracting initiatives? How can local and international actors develop support to societies that search a way out of violence and repression without violating universal moral standards, in an imperfect and resource-scarce situation?
This study departs from the view that both human rights and peace-building are agendas with specific and unique contributions. In order to deal with overlapping claims that the two agendas sometimes formulate, in both conflict and post-conflict situations, this study suggests specific approaches in order to create synergy effects of agenda cooperation.