Taking Wrongs Seriously: Apologies and Reconciliation

by Elazar Barkan (Editor), Elazar Barkan (Editor)

Since the end of the Cold War, and particularly during the last fifteen years, the human need to amend immoral wrongs has been expressed in political discourse as a propensity to apologize for acts of past injustice. Can apology, by bringing closure to conflicts and by opening new possibilities for communication and mutual understanding, cultivate reconciliation and ameliorate the present? Taking Wrongs Seriously examines the increasingly potent role of apology as a social force. Contributors explore in a comparative and interdisciplinary framework the role and function―as well as the limitations―that apology has in promoting dialogue, tolerance, and cooperation between groups confronting one another over past injustices. Fourteen essays draw on a variety of disciplines―including history, international relations, transition studies, sociology, legal studies, psychology, and religion―to explore the real and symbolic transactions that lie at the core of apology. There is no similar introductory text on this subject that includes multiple disciplinary perspectives as well as such a wide geographical and historical spectrum of case studies.

369 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2006

Reviews

[Sergei Moska]

This book was a pleasant surprise. It is a collection of essays about "apologies and reconciliation", but all the essays are to some extent tied to international relations (IR) issues. Not being an IR guy, I was worried that the book would basically only be about the effects of apologies by high-level officials on security issues and trade. Shows what I know. Also shows what I biased jerk I was (am?) when it comes to IR.

With the exception of Bindenagel's overly self-congratulatory contribution (he's a US government official, not an academic), I at least mildly enjoyed all of the pieces in the book. Some read like journalism on steroids, others like original (to me at least) interpretations of various social phenomena tied to inter-group apologies.

This book is about group apology and is about politics, so those who are interested in a broader treatment of apology (including apologies between individuals) might check out Tavuchis' Mea Culpa or Lazare's On Apology. What this book does give you is a series of essays which will provide scholars (1) ample cases studies to draw on when writing about apologies in political contexts and (2) some interesting theoretical insights that advance the discussion in a number of ways. A good book that's easy to read.

[Shahla Ali]

very thought provoking. A review is here: http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/sub...