Disjunctured narratives: rethinking reconciliation and conflict transformation

Abstract

Reconciliation has been a notable part of discourses of conflict management and transitional justice in a number of conflictual situations around the world. This article examines the recent emergence of critical theories of reconciliation with particular reference to processes of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. It evaluates the ways in which conflict transformation in Northern Ireland is specific to that context and the variations in the usage of discourses of reconciliation compared with other 'post-conflict' societies. The article highlights critical theories of reconciliation which, although largely supportive of the potential of reconciliation, tend to highlight the argument..