Approaches to the Aftermath of Intergroup Violence: Effects of Impunity, Trials, and Truth Commissions on Intergroup Peace and Reconciliation Between Victims and Perpetrators

在国际或族裔间冲突与暴力之后，实现和解与和平的最佳方式是什么？有罪不罚、审判或法庭以及真相委员会是与试图解决冲突的方法不同的方法。马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的Bernhard Leidner博士和他的同事将测试哪些应对国际/种族间暴力(AIV)的方法最有可能促进冲突后社会的和解与和平。他们制定了一个模式，解释不同的艾滋病毒在施暴者和受害者之间的后果和潜在机制。莱德纳博士和他的合作者假设，感知禽流感病毒的公平性会增加和解的意愿，降低未来暴力的动机；这是通过增加对过去冲突中敌对群体的同理心，减少对他们的愤怒和非人化来实现的。哪一种禽流感病毒被认为是最公平的，应该取决于人们在受害者或犯罪者群体中的成员身份，以及他们对这一群体优于其他群体的信念。这一理论将在多个国家的十项实证研究中进行验证，采用混合的研究设计。参与者将包括不同的和有代表性的成年人群体，其中一些人经历过过去的国际或种族间冲突。这项研究测试了以重要的大规模社会问题为中心的理论和学术兴趣的假设。从这项工作中获得的知识将使来自广泛学科(例如，外交/国际关系、国际法、政治学、心理学、社会学)的学者感兴趣，并将有助于我们对主动参与活动的理解和决定。因此，这项研究是努力尽量减少国际或族裔间暴力并最大限度地实现和解与和平的重要一步。该项目还将为研究生研究人员和本科生研究助理提供独特的跨学科培训和教育，包括一些来自代表性不足背景的研究人员。研究成果将通过期刊出版物和会议报告以及通过非政府组织和学术界以外的其他实体传播。

What is the best way to achieve reconciliation and peace following international or inter-ethnic conflict and violence? Impunity, trials or tribunals, and truth commissions are different methods to that have been used to try to resolve conflicts. Dr. Bernhard Leidner (University of Massachusetts Amherst) and colleagues will test which approaches to international/inter-ethnic violence (AIVs) are most likely to facilitate reconciliation and peace in post-conflict societies. They have developed a model explaining the consequences and underlying mechanisms of different AIVs among perpetrators and victims. Dr. Leidner and his collaborators hypothesize that perceived fairness of an AIV leads to increased willingness to reconcile and decreased motivation for future violence; and this occurs by increasing empathy for, and decreasing anger at and dehumanization of the adversarial group of a past conflict. Which AIV will be perceived as most fair should depend on people's membership in victim or perpetrator groups, and their beliefs in the superiority of this group over other groups. This theory will be tested in ten empirical studies in multiple countries, utilizing a mix of research designs. Participants will include heterogeneous and representative groups of adults, some whom have experienced past international or inter-ethnic conflict.This research tests hypotheses of theoretical and scholarly interest at the center of important large-scale social problems. Knowledge gained from this work will be of interest to scholars from a broad range of disciplines (e.g., foreign/ international relations, international law, political science, psychology, sociology) and will inform our understanding of and decisions about AIVs. Therefore, this research constitutes an important step in working towards minimizing international or inter-ethnic violence and maximizing reconciliation and peace. This project will also provide unique, interdisciplinary training and education for graduate researchers and undergraduate research assistants, including some from under-represented backgrounds. Research findings will be disseminated through journal publications and conference presentations, as well as through NGOs and other entities outside of academia.