From Revenge to Forgiveness: Strengthening Durable Peace in Post-Conflict Societies
Short description
In November 2019, Professor Kristen Kao (University of Gothenburg), Michael Bang Petersen (Aarhus University), and Kristen Fabbe (Harvard University) were awarded 3.2 million SEK (approx. 320,000 USD) from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond to study the drivers of reconciliation for rebel collaborators in Iraq. In 2020, Kristen Kao won an additional grant from the Folke Bernadotte Academy for 396 000 SEK (approx. 42,000 USD) to supplement the project.
About the Project
Civil conflicts gravely damage state legitimacy. Institutions are rendered incapable of providing security, social trust among citizenry diminishes, and non-state actors step in to fill the vacuum of power. Following conflict, the state needs to re-establish itself as the legitimate arbiter of processes aimed at bringing former rebel collaborators to justice. Unless it carefully considers subnational variation in the drivers of forgiveness and reconciliation with rebel collaborators, the state may generate new grievances among some communities, increasing the chances of rebel recidivism or the outbreak of new conflict.
This project developed and tested a novel framework integrating political science theories of legitimacy with psychological theories of forgiveness, feelings of (in)justice, and desire for revenge. To test this framework, we conducted in-depth interviews, held focus group discussions, and implemented three large-scale surveys with embedded experiments in Iraq.
This project employed innovative tools to identify both the subnational drivers of violent resentment towards the state and the drivers of reconciliation. It's results provides policymakers with the information necessary to design successful strategies for reconciliation, re-establishment of state legitimacy, and lasting peace.
Related Publications:
Kao, Kristen and Revkin, Mara Redlich. (2018). “To punish or to pardon?” Governance and Local Development Working Paper Series, No. 17. Read it here.
Kao, Kristen and Mara Revkin. (2019) "How the Iraqi crackdown on the Islamic State may actually increase support for the Islamic State." Washington Post/Monkey Cage. Read it here.
Kao, Kristen and Revkin, Mara. (2021). "Retribution or Reconciliation? Post-Conflict Attitudes toward Enemy Collaborators." American Journal of Political Science. Read it here.
Acknowledgments
This project is supported by the From Revenge to Forgiveness: Strengthening Durable Peace in Post-Conflict Societies grant (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond – P19-0761; Folke Bernadotte Academy – 20-00312), PI: Kristen Kao.