Reconciliation ‒ a rational act of prudence on the path to justice

There are conflicts, for example those of a warlike nature, between peoples and nations, which are preceded by a long history of condemnation and which are so inextricable with regard to mutual apportionment of blame that they can no longer be resolved by the application of justice-related considerations alone. If one does not simply want to surrender to the perpetuation of the conflict situation and accept the state of unjust conditions in the long term, then a different strategy of conflict resolution is required. One such strategy is that of reconciliation between the parties to the conflict. Reconciliation in this context is not primarily an emotional process, but must be understood as a rational act of prudence on the path to justice. 

If a reconciliation process guided by reason is to be successful in this way, it must fulfil certain conditions that can be represented as successive steps of reconciliation. There must be (1.) the existence of an original unity for reconciliation to take effect at all. There must have been (2.) a culpable destruction of the original unity through an ongoing conflict that can no longer be resolved from a strict justice perspective. Traditional models of conflict management and conflict resolution must (3.) fail, so that (4.) the insolubility of the conflict is recognized and the will to wisely shape a just future in justice and (5.) as well as the will for reconciliation and the willingness to repent and forgive grow. The will to reconciliation must (6.) manifest itself in concrete acts of reconciliation and (7.) be reflected in a solemn act of reconciliation as an affirmation of a realistic hope for reconciliation. 

Even if this succeeds, reconciliation remains a permanent task, especially as the burden of history continues to weigh on former conflict parties, so that there is a permanent danger that the orientation towards the past will once again dominate over the will to shape a common future in reconciled justice. However, it is not the logic of retribution but the logic of reconciliation that opens up a path to lasting peace in justice.