[TimorLesteStudies] New publication: Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context: Angolan, Guinean, Mozambican, and East Timorese perspectives

[Bu Wilson]

Regulation & Governance

Volume 1 Issue 4 Page 329-346, December 2007

To cite this article: Félix Neto, Conceição Pinto, Etienne Mullet (2007)
Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context: Angolan, Guinean, Mozambican,
and East Timorese perspectives
Regulation & Governance 1 (4), 329–346.
doi:10.1111/j.1748-5991.2007.00018.x 

Abstract
 

Forgiveness is a key concept in many governance and responsive regulation
issues. The notion of intergroup forgiveness was examined among people from
four countries: Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and East Timor. Nine
hundred and eighty-five adults who had suffered from the many conflicts in
their areas, either personally or through injuries inflicted on members of
their family, agreed to participate in a study that was specifically about
seeking intergroup forgiveness. In all four countries, most participants of
the study agreed with the ideas that (i) seeking intergroup forgiveness
makes sense; (ii) the seeking process must be a popular, democratic, and
public process, not a secret elite negotiation; (iii) the process must be
initiated and conducted by people in charge politically, not by dissident
factions; and (iv) the process is aimed at reconciliation, not at
humiliating the group requesting forgiveness. Differences between the four
countries were found regarding the extent to which (i) international
organizations may be involved in the process; (ii) the demand must include
the former perpetrators; and (iii) emotions and material compensation are
ingredients in the process.


Bu Wilson
Regulatory  Institutions Network (RegNet) 
College of Asia and the Pacific, RSPAS
Australian National University 
Canberra   ACT   0200 
AUSTRALIA 

T: 02 6125 3194 
F: 02 6125 1507
M: 0407 087 086 
E: Bu.Wilson at anu.edu.au



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