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Reconciliaton as Identity Change: A Social-Psychological Perspective.

Kelman, Herbert C.
June 4, 2015

Source: (2004) In Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov, ed., From conflict resolution to reconciliation. New York: Oxford University Press. Pp. 111-124.

Although Kelman has generally viewed reconciliation as a consequence of complete and successful conflict resolution, in this chapter he moves to view reconciliation as a complementary process. He focuses on reconciliation in cases in which resolution of societal conflict is recent or is only just emerging. Reconciliation is more focused on how parties live together after a conflict than on the process of achieving a lasting agreement. Hence, the author aligns with a three-pronged model of peacemaking that includes conflict settlement, conflict resolution, and reconciliation. These three processes operate, respectively, at the levels of interests, relationships, and identity. Kelman goes on to discuss five conditions related to identity change that characterize the process of reconciliation between societies.

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