Full Description
Reconciliation between political antagonists who went to war against each other is not a natural process. Hostility toward an enemy only slowly abates and the political resolution of a conflict is not necessarily followed by the immediate pacification of society and reconciliation among individuals. Under what conditions can a combatant be brought to understand the motivations of his enemies, consider them as equals, and develop a new relationship, going so far as to even forgive them? By comparing the experiences of veterans of the South African and Franco-Algerian conflicts, Laetitia Bucaille seeks to answer this question. She begins by putting the postconflict and postcolonial order that characterizes South Africa, France, and Algeria into perspective, examining how each country provided symbolic and material rewards to the veterans and how past conflict continues to shape the present. Exploring the narratives of ex-combatants, Bucaille also fosters an understanding of their intimate experiences as well as their emotions of pride, loss, and guilt.
In its comparative analysis of South Africa and Algeria, Making Peace with Your Enemy reveals a paradox. In Algeria, the rhetoric of the regime is characterized by resentment toward colonizing France but relations between individuals Reconciliationare warm. However, in South Africa, democratization was based on official reconciliation but distance and wariness between whites and blacks prevail. Despite these differences, Bucaille argues, South African, Algerian, and French ex-adversaries face a similar challenge: how to extricate oneself from colonial domination and the violence of war in order to build relationships based on trust.
Contents
Introduction
PART I. THE AFTERMATH OF CONFLICT: (RE)FORGING THE POLITICAL ORDER
Chapter 1. South Africa: Sparing the Losers
Chapter 2. Algeria: The Victory over Colonialism
Chapter 3. France and the Algerian War: Forgetting or Endless Confrontation?
PART II. EX-COMBATANTS AND THE NATION
Chapter 4. South African Ex-Combatants: The Constraints of Reconciliation and the Law of the Market
Chapter 5. The Ex-Combatants of the FLN: An Eternally Privileged "Revolutionary Family"
Chapter 6. The Ex-Combatants of the OAS: From Exile to Overintegration
PART III. WAR NARRATIVES AND IMAGINARIES OF VIOLENCE
Chapter 7. Collective Discourse
Chapter 8. Perpetrating Violence
Chapter 9. The Intimate Ordeal of Torture
PART IV. THE DEMANDS OF JUSTICE AND RECOGNITION
Chapter 10. Offering Forgiveness/Demanding Apology
Chapter 11. Extricating Oneself from Domination
Conclusion
Notes
Acknowledgments
