The Promise of Reconciliation? ─ Examining Violent and Nonviolent Effects on Asian Conflicts

"Questions the relationship between violence, nonviolence, and reconciliation in societal conflicts. The contributors maintain that reconciliation per se is not a panacea. If not managed properly, reconciliation programs can become contests of competing victimizations, and can even spark future conflict. The contributors examine international influences on the peace/reconciliation process in Indonesia's Aceh province, as well as the role of Muslim religious scholars. They also examine the effect of violence in southern Thailand, where insurgent violence provides "leverage" during the fighting, but negatively affects their post-conflict objectives. The Sri Lanka chapter shows that "successful" violence does not necessarily end conflict--Sri Lankan societytoday is more polarized that it was before its civil war. The Vietnam chapter argues that the rise of nonviolent protest in Vietnam reflects a profound loss of state legitimacy, which cannot be resolved with force. The following chapter examines "Red Sunday," a Thai reform movement engaged in nonviolent protest in the face of violent government suppression. The book ends with a look at ethnic conflict in Indonesia after it emerged in 1998 from three decades of dictatorial rule. In studying violent conflict and programs for reconciliation, the contributors found that they are dealing with highly complex issues, such as historical grievances, dysfunctional states, or civil wars. Understanding such conflict issues is crucial in the efforts to curtail violence and strengthen reconciliation possibilities"--