Full Description
This book aims to bridge the gap between what are generally referred to as 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches to peacebuilding.
After the experience of a physical and psychological trauma, the period of individual healing and recovery is intertwined with political and social reconciliation. The prospects for social and political reconciliation are undermined when a 'top-down' approach is favoured over the 'bottom-up strategy'- the prioritization of structural stability over societal well-being.
Peacebuilding, Memory and Reconciliation explores the inextricable link between psychological recovery and socio-political reconciliation, and the political issues that dominate this relationship. Through an examination of the construction of social narratives about or for peace, the text offers a new perspective on peacebuilding, which challenges and questions the very nature of the dichotomy between 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches.
This book will be of much interest to students of peacebuilding, peace and conflict studies, social psychology, political science and IR in general.
Contents
Introduction: History, Memory, Politics of Peace Part 1: Conceptual Issues 1. The Post-Conflict Paradox: Engaging War, Creating Peace 2. A Critique of "Bottom-Up" Peacebuilding: Do Peaceful Individuals make Peaceful Societies? Part 2: Case Studies 3. Familial Trauma in Democratic Spain: Memory and Reconciliation through Generations 4. Living to tell the Story: Healing, Social Denial and Redress in Uruguay 5. Justice, Healing and Reconciliation in Cambodia 6. Exploring the Role of Apology in Cambodia's Reconciliation Process 7. Governmental Apologies and Political Reconciliation: Promise and Pitfalls 8. Co-Creating Peace: Confronting Psycho-Social-Economic Injustices in the Israeli-Paelstinian Context 9. Restorative Moments: From First Nations People in Canada to Conflicts in an Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue Group 10. Towards Peace and Reconciliation after the Great War: Letter-Writing to the League of Nations 11. Can History Heal Trauma? The Role of History Education in Reconciliation Processes 12. Conclusion: Making "Bottom-Up" Peacebuilding Relevant
