Civil Society and Reconciliation

At the writing of this chapter we are just a few days into the new Century and Millennium. Over the past weeks our minds have turned numerous times toward reflection on the meaning of this past Century, the events that riveted our attention, and the direction of global relationships. For those of us that have had the opportunity and privilege to work at the forging of peace processes, we witnessed in the last few years extraordinary events.

Over the course of decades we watched the ebb and flow of destructive cycles of violence in the Irish context. At some points over the last thirty years it seemed political negotiations might render a peaceful solution, but nearly as soon as the hopes were raised, a new cycle of violence would break. Then came the declaration of ceasefires in the 1990s, nudged through a maze of people and decision makers by a series of mostly unnamed internal actors, but soon supported by a much broader coalition peace supporters. Against all odds, and most surprisingly, in spite of numerous explosive moments…