Forgiveness in International Relations: A Framework for Relevance.

The 1990s has been called the age of apologies due to the escalation of political apologies beginning in this time period. Apologies by governments include the British apology to the Irish and the Maoris, Japan's apology to the Korean comfort women, and the apology of the United States to the native Hawaiians. These apologies are deemed to be part of reconciliation processes for past wrongs. It is notable, however, that official acts of forgiveness rarely accompany these apologies. In fact, forgiveness is not something that nation-states or their representatives seem to do. Why not? What possibilities exist for nation-states to forgive, as part of reconciliation and justice-seeking processes? What would it look like and what meaning would it have? Drawing from literature on state apologies and on forgiveness in societal reconciliation processes, a framework is developed for forgiveness in international relations. Historical and current cases are used as illustrative examples to demonstrate the application of the framework. Five main issues guide inquiry. How does this merciful act of forgiveness fit with the primary requirements of justice in dealing with past wrongs, as evidenced by the institutionalization of war crimes tribunals and truth commissions? How can the collective nation-state forgive on behalf of individual victims? Is forgiveness applicable to inter-state as well as intra-state processes? What is the strategic value of forgiveness for nation-states? Finally, what are the possibilities of unilateral forgiveness? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]