The concept of reconciliation has emerged as a central term of politicaldiscourse within societies divided by a history of political violence such asSouth Afric... » 

The concept of reconciliation has emerged as a central term of politicaldiscourse within societies divided by a history of political violence such asSouth Africa Chile Australia and Northern Ireland. Although reconciliation isat odds with politics insofar as it is directed towards closure harmony andconsensus while politics tends towards openness conflict and dissent it hasbeen promoted as a way of reckoning with the legacy of past wrongs whileopening the way for community in the future.This book examines the issues of transitional justice in the context ofcontemporary debates in political theory concerning the nature of thepolitical. Drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt the author argues that if weare to talk of reconciliation in politics we need to think about it in afundamentally different wayas agnostic rather than restorative. This argumentis developed in relation to four key aspects of the politics of reconciliationthe constitution of a polity the possibility of forgivenessin politicscollective responsibility of citizens for state wrongs and remembrance of apainful past.This book will be of interest to students and researchers with a particularinterest in transitional justice and those in the fields of political theorypeace and conflict studies international relations philosophy and ethics. «