Description

This short paper assignment allows you to reflect more on reconciliation, which many scholars and practitioners consider as the end-goal of peacebuilding efforts. A key part of this paper is presenting your own arguments and supporting them with evidence from the conflict cases covered in the readings and in class.

Please respond to both prompts and include a subheading to divide your responses to each prompt. Students are permitted to draw on sources from outside of class, but they are not required to consult outside sources.


Prompt 1 (400-500 words):

In both the course readings and recent class meetings, we’ve explored different ways of thinking about the term “reconciliation.”

  • Identify and describe two different ways of thinking about the term “reconciliation”. What component(s)/ ingredient(s)/ condition(s) does each emphasize? What (if anything) is required of the perpetrator and victim in each way of thinking about “reconciliation”?
  • In your opinion, which is the more compelling way to think about the term, and why?

Prompt 2 (500-800 words):

The course has concluded by showing some impediments that lie in the path toward peace and reconciliation in the Bosnian conflict and by showing how reconciliation has been applied in other contexts (eg, Germany-France, Germany-Israel). We see that reconciliation is a lengthy process, but that there can be important Track I and Track II interventions to facilitate it.

While reconciliation is still a far-off prospect for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we can hope that it will someday reach a settlement and that the parties will begin to embark on the journey toward reconciliation. Based on lessons learned from the Bosnian case and the cases of Germany, what recommendations do you have to help promote “reconciliation” in a future post-settlement Israel-Palestine? If you were to create a plan for the post-settlement reconciliation process, what would it entail and why?

  • In putting forth your ideas for Track I and Track II interventions to facilitate “reconciliation”, please draw on the conceptualization of “reconciliation” that you found most compelling in Prompt #1. What is necessary to achieve “reconciliation,” as you think of the term?
  • Be sure to address interventions on both the Track I and Track II/III levels. However, if you think either of these tracks is unimportant, or even counterproductive to achieving “reconciliation”, then explain why you think so.
  • Pay particular attention to the sequencing of Track I and Track II/III interventions, as well as the specific types of interventions. Don’t just say that parties should engage in “dialogue” to achieve reconciliation. Explain who should be involved and describe the content and purpose of the dialogue. Also, describe what (if anything) needs to happen before or after “dialogue” so that “dialogue” can advance reconciliation. Should “dialogue” happen before, after, or at the same time as other interventions?
  • DO NOT focus your attention on the terms of a settlement to the Israel-Palestine conflict (eg, how to divide Jerusalem, how to repatriate refugees, etc.). Rather, assume that a realistic settlement has been achieved that satisfies both parties. You can make assumptions about what this settlement would be (eg, one-state solution, two-state solution), but quickly state any relevant assumptions about the settlement in a footnote.

Advice

  • Use good paragraph structure. Begin your paragraphs with a topic sentence that very explicitly states the argument that you’re making in the paragraph. Then, each of the sentences in the paragraph should aim to prove the argument in the topic sentence.
  • Be selective about the supporting details you use. Don’t treat your response as an opportunity to showcase all the facts you know about the conflict cases. Rather, be judicious in selecting facts that support your argument. Think about your argument and how you can best support it with evidence from the readings and class lectures. This is an exercise in critical thinking, not an exercise in regurgitating facts.
  • Pay attention to the rubric. Please be sure to review the rubric carefully. It can also be helpful to structure your paper so that each paragraph of your paper addresses its own component of the rubric.

SOURCES. (YOU CAN ONLY USE THESE SOURCES)