Forgiveness and the practice of compromise in post-apartheid South Africa.

Mueller-Hirth, Natascha

Abstract

Forgiveness has become a striven-for societal goal in post-conflict societies in the past decade or two. The rise of 'policies of forgiveness' can, for instance, be illustrated by the increasing popularity of truth commissions to deal with past human rights violations. In this context, forgiveness is advocated as part of a measures to deal with past human rights violations and as a means to reconciliation. In relation to the sociology of compromise, the capacity for forgiveness is one of a number of mediating factors that make it easier for people to live together after conflict and to practice tolerance; other such mediators include the ability to transcend divided memories of the former conflict, senses of the fairness of the concessions, trust and, perhaps most crucially the social networks in which people are located.

Citation

MUELLER-HIRTH, N. 2018. Forgiveness and the practice of compromise in post-apartheid South Africa. In Brewer, J.D. (ed.) The sociology of compromise after conflict. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan [online], chapter 5, pages 103-128. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78744-2_5

• Online Publication Date: Jun 27, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 5, 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 20, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 28, 2020
• Publisher: Springer
• Pages: 103-128
• Series Title: Palgrave studies in compromise after conflict
• Book Title: The sociology of compromise after conflict
• Chapter Number: Chapter 5
• ISBN: 9783319787435
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78744-2_5
• Keywords: Forgiveness; Postconflict; Truth commissions; Reconciliation; South Africa Post apartheid
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/3082