Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context: Angolan, Guinean, Mozambican, and East Timorese perspectives.

Source: (2007) Regulation & Governance. 1(4):329-346.

Forgiveness is a key concept in many governance and responsive regulation issues. The notion
of intergroup forgiveness was examined among people from four countries: Angola, Guinea-
Bissau, Mozambique, and East Timor. Nine hundred and eighty-five adults who had suffered
from the many conflicts in their areas, either personally or through injuries inflicted on members
of their family, agreed to participate in a study that was specifically about seeking intergroup
forgiveness. In all four countries, most participants of the study agreed with the ideas
that (i) seeking intergroup forgiveness makes sense; (ii) the seeking process must be a popular,
democratic, and public process, not a secret elite negotiation; (iii) the process must be initiated
and conducted by people in charge politically, not by dissident factions; and (iv) the process
is aimed at reconciliation, not at humiliating the group requesting forgiveness. Differences
between the four countries were found regarding the extent to which (i) international organizations
may be involved in the process; (ii) the demand must include the former perpetrators;
and (iii) emotions and material compensation are ingredients in the process.(authors’ abstract)