Reconciliation by Stealth advances a novel approach to evaluating the effects of transitional justice in postconflict societies. Through her examination of the Balkan conflicts, Denisa Kostovicova asks what happens when former adversaries discuss legacies of violence and atrocity, and whether it is possible to do so without further deepening animosities. Reconciliation by Stealth shifts our attention from what people say about war crimes, to how they deliberate past wrongs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bringing together theories of democratic deliberation and peacebuilding, Kostovicova demonstrates how people from opposing ethnic groups reconcile through reasoned, respectful, and empathetic deliberation about a difficult legacy. She finds that expression of ethnic difference plays a role in good-quality deliberation across ethnic lines, while revealed intraethnic divisions help deliberators expand moral horizons previously narrowed by conflict. In the process, people forge bonds of solidarity and offset divisive identity politics that bears upon their deliberations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reconciliation by Stealth shows us the importance of theoretical and methodological innovation in capturing how transitional justice can promote reconciliation, and points to the untapped potential of deliberative problem-solving to repair relationships fractured by conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to generous funding from the London School of Economic and Political Science, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu\/cornell-open) and other repositories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Introduction: Reconciliation through Public Communication Praise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Reconciliation by Stealth, Kostovicova (London School of Economics, England) introduces readers to another way of dealing with war crimes: conversation. The goal is to allow victims and survivors the chance to speak their truths and expose others to them. One’s gender, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, and more affects one’s ability to speak the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choice<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Original and thought-provoking, Reconciliation by Stealth<\/em> provides a unique approach to studying post-conflict justice and reconciliation, focusing on the inner workings of transitional justice discussions and how they can be managed to assist participants and victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jessie Barton Hrone\u0161ov\u00e1, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, author of The Struggle for Redress<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an important book that focuses on the very real dilemmas of how to pursue justice and reconciliation after violent conflict. Based on extensive research and a deep knowledge of the context, Denisa Kostovicova puts forward an innovative and convincing argument on how difficult conversations can lead to reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roger Mac Ginty, Durham University, co-director of Everyday Peace Indicators<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employing a range of impressive research methods, Kostovicova demonstrates how reconciliation in the aftermath of violent conflict can be achieved through public consultations about justice for war crimes. An original, rigorous and compelling study that challenges prevailing notions of transitional justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Caplan, University of Oxford, author of Measuring Peace<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this methodologically innovative study Denisa Kostovicova shows us why getting people from opposing sides to talk to one another constructively matters so much. This book illuminates how reconciliation involves the capacity to have an empathetic understanding for the experiences of others and, in this way, RECOM was a stealth success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eric Gordy, University College London, author of Guilt, Responsibility and Denial<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Denisa Kostovicova expertly shows how much more local peace initiatives can achieve than internationally driven criminal tribunals, truth commissions, and even EU conditionality. In place of competitive victimhood and avoidance of identity politics, she shows how a local process based on fact-finding, ethnic identities, and open deliberation on war crimes can result in reconciliation, empathy, and even solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Susan L. Woodward, City University of New York, author of Balkan Tragedy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A splendid book that demonstrates that deliberative interethnic contact has the potential of overcoming divisions in post-conflict societies. Reconciliation by Stealth is essential for practitioners of transitional justice interested in how people talk to each other about war crimes matters for reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Wars, Crimes, and Justice in the Balkans
2. Bringing Identities into Postconflict Deliberation
3. Quantifying Discourse in Transitional Justice
4. Words of Reason and Talk of Pain
5. Who Agrees and Who Disagrees
6. Discursive Solidarity against Identity Politics
Conclusion: Reconciliation and Deliberative Interethnic Contact<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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