Committee for Conflict Transformation Support |
CCTS
|
Book reviewMohammed Abu-Nimer, ed., Reconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence: Theory and Practice. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2001This review has been written by Andrew Rigby, Professor of Peace Studies and Director of the Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation at Coventry University, UK This collection of essays edited by Mohammed Abu Nimer is an excellent contribution to the existing body of work addressing the problems of creating a sustainable peace in societies emerging out of violent conflict. It consists of 16 chapters, each based on papers delivered at a conference held in February 1999 under the title Promoting justice and peace through reconciliation and coexistence alternatives. As such the book has the strengths and weaknesses of such collections - a rich range of contributions coming from an impressive selection of authors, but an unevenness of quality and a degree of repetition that would not be found in a single-authored text. The book is divided into two parts. The first eight contributions are grouped under the heading of Theoretical frameworks for reconciliation in peace-building, with the other eight drawing on case study material to illustrate a range of approaches to promoting justice, coexistence and reconciliation in different situations. The first part contains a typical contribution by Johan Galtung in which he develops a taxonomy of twelve different approaches to reconciliation. Reconciliation is defined in typical Galtung-ian fashion as 'closure + healing', and his argument is that it can only be approached by an appropriate combination of the different methodologies. The trouble I found with his approach (apart from a serious question mark around the notion of 'closure') was that by the time I had got to the twelfth type I had forgotten what the first three had been! Rather more accessible is the excellent overview by Louis Kreisberg of the different forms (and degrees) of coexistence according to types of inter-communal interaction and integration. The value of this contribution lies in the way the author forces us to question the easy manner in which many of us use the term 'reconciliation', without pausing to consider that reconciliation, like other human processes, needs to be viewed along a continuum of different degrees and types. By contrast with the rather schematic treatment of Galtung and Kreisberg, Marc Gopin presents a sensitive and informed analysis of the significance of forgiveness in the three Abrahamic faiths. At a time when the US government's list of 'rogue states' is composed primarily of Islamic countries, it is perhaps worth noting that whilst in Islam it is expected that people have the right to repay evil for evil, those who can forgive - even when justifiably angry - will receive the highest reward, and the Qur'an suggests that people deal with their differences by means of consultation. It is not apparent that the current U.S. president shares such a commitment. One of the axioms of those involved in peace-building is that each conflict situation has its own history and dynamic. Hence one of the key requirements of anyone seeking to intervene constructively is a sensitivity to the particularities of each situation in their conflict analysis. Unfortunately, reading some of the contributors in the first half of the book one gets the sense that too many of them believe in a 'one size fits all' kind of analytical framework. Nowhere is this more apparent than with Joseph Montville when he asserts, "Human needs theory is essential to understanding the genesis of political conflict in general and of ethnic and sectarian conflict and violence in particular. It is also critical to the design of effective conflict resolution intervention strategies in the cause of genuine peace and justice." (p. 130) One of the gaps in the collection is any attempt to engage with the all-too-common uncritical reliance on notions of 'basic needs' to 'explain' the dynamics of conflict situations. Just to take one example, in the concluding chapter the observation is made that 'achieving reconciliation, justice and peace is connected with meeting basic human needs (such as security, recognition, equality, and identity).'(p. 344) Most would agree that for our sense of well-being it would be desirable to feel secure, be acknowledged, have a clear sense of who we are in relation to others. Indeed many of us might argue that these should be basic human rights, but would we call these 'basic needs'? A term such as 'basic need' presumably should refer to some universal condition, applicable to all, that must be fulfilled for human survival. Can we seriously suggest that 'equality' is such a basic need? Equality with regard to what? How can 'equality' be a 'basic need'? In a lot of circumstances it is not even desirable as a human right. It is as farcical as insisting that democracy (in the sense of respect for majority opinion) is a basic need and as such is the most appropriate form of decision-making in all areas of life. Underpinning the structure of the book is the distinction between 'theory' and 'practice' that is common to similar collections. Such a distinction is somewhat artificial, insofar as most forms of peace-building activity are informed by some kind of analytical framework that guides the intervention. Indeed, it is in the practice that the theory 'comes alive' - and this book really 'comes alive' in the second half with a series of fascinating analyses and commentaries on the tensions involved in pursuing the goals of peace and justice as a basis for coexistence and reconciliation in different situations. Hizkias Assefa presents an account of his intervention in a communal clash in Northern Ghana that will go straight on to my reading list for students. His analysis of the way in which he and his colleagues worked to develop peace constituencies on both sides of the community divide is a classic. Moreover, he reminds us of the significance of the spiritual dimension in peace-building when one is dealing with people of faith. By contrast with Assefa's 'bottom-up' approach, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission was very much a 'top-down' process shaped by national political agendas rather than the demands of victims and local communities. The tension between justice and peace in South Africa was managed by reference to the restorative dimension of justice lying at the heart of the African notion of ubuntu - valuing the restoration of community and humanity above the punishment of perpetrators. In his contribution Hugo van der Merwe takes this argument seriously, but highlights the contradictions between top-down and bottom-up models of restorative justice. For example, he refers to the concern of the TRC with symbolic interactions (performances?) that took on significance because of the way they could be conveyed to a wider public. By contrast, people at the level of the local community sought something more: "While symbolic gestures and public images were seen as relevant, they did not replace the need for direct practical interventions." Few of the contributors present a gendered view of peace-building, but in her mapping of the different dimensions of peace-building work in Northern Ireland Mari Fitzduff highlights the pioneering and courageous role played by women in attempts over the years to reach across the community divide, a divide that remains as strong as ever in spite of (or perhaps because of) the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Other contributions worthy of note include Wendy Lambourne's comparative study of the methods of managing the tensions between peace and justice in Rwanda and Cambodia, Barry Hart's analysis of the problems of facilitating the return of the displaced in Bosnia, and Amy Hubbard's insights into the dynamics of dialogue groups based on her own participation in Jewish-Palestinian encounters in the USA. Overall this is an excellent collection of essays. Its breadth of coverage is remarkable, both with regard to the case study material and the range of issues raised relating to that core dilemma that lies at the heart of much peace-building work: How do you pursue justice and attempt to 'set things right' whilst at the same time promoting harmony between adversaries? Andrew Rigby
|