Political Reconciliation

Since the end of the Cold War, the concept of reconciliation has emerged as a central term of political discourse within societies divided by a history of political violence. Reconciliation has been promoted as a way of reckoning with the legacy of past wrongs while opening the way for community in the future. This book examines the issues of transitional justice in the context of contemporary debates in political theory concerning the nature of 'the political'. Bringing together research on transitional justice and political theory, the author argues that if we are to talk of reconciliation in politics we need to think about it in a fundamentally different way than is commonly presupposed; as agonistic rather than restorative. Review: 'One of the joys of this book is that the author articulates his understanding of the political clearly and that the political is one of the cornerstones of his thinking throughout the whole text. This feature alone distinguishes Schaap's text from the other saccarrine theorising so often found in the literature on peace and conflict studies.' Michael Phillips, Theoria 'For the sake of the world, Schaap argues that we must pursue the politicsof reconciliation. In contexts of civil war, genocide, or sectarian violence, his perspective is one that seeks to stun the desire for a final settlement of the past. In so doing, Schaap presents a nuanced view of reconciliation that is forcefully argued, masterfully presented, and bound to be controversial.' P. E. Digeser, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA 'This is an extremely rich book. Schaap has outlined an important alternative to the dominant models of reconciliation and in the process has deepened our understanding of what the stakes are for societies facing a legacy of injustice and continued mistrust. The book is all the more timely given the current madness in Iraq and Afghanistan where the United States hopes that proceduralism and militarism will guarantee stability, and the struggles faced in Rwanda, Cambodia and other authoritarian countries where reconciliation is equated with political imposition. Schaap's forcefully argued book reminds us that reconciliation is hard and difficult to attain, and must always be reaffirmed.' Ernesto Verdeja, Wesleyan University, USA