Managed Intergroup Contact In Peace-building And Reconciliation
and aid in the development of understanding and cross-community relationship building (Allport 1979: 280).
This article assesses two fundamental elements of reconciliation and
peace-building: forgiveness and trust, and further illustrates how managed intergroup contact can help increase the two and thus aid the process of reconciliation. It also argues that grassroots projects should be
implemented alongside top-level political institutions, such as, for example, the Commission for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland. The
article draws on the lessons learned from Co-operation Ireland’s Family
and Community Engagement (FACE)1 project to argue for a Managed
Contact Theory (MCT) approach in future post-conflict cross-community work.
Reconciliation and Peace-building
Although the processes of reconciliation and peace-building are related
they are not interchangeable. In post-conflict societies, reconciliation is
key to peace-building efforts, as it allows opposing groups to move beyond hate and distrust whilst encouraging cooperation and collaboration
(Hewstone et al 2008: 199-226; see also Hamber 2007). However, reconciliation is only one step towards peace-building, a much broader and
more expansive concept that involves a range of approaches implemented over a long period of time; which aims to change the social structures
underlying the conflict and the attitudes of the parties involved (Ropers
1995: 35).
Based at Co-operation Ireland, the island’s largest peacebuilding organization, the
FACE project is an EU funded, peace and reconciliation project, which aims to integrate
the families of British Services families currently residing in the four Army camps remaining in Northern Ireland. These individuals tend to lead separate, segregated lives due
to an inherent mistrust of the local population – a residue of the Troubles and the negative
image of the British Army. FACE is currently in its second year and works with hundreds
of individuals all over the region.
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