Responsibility to Reconcile: Adopting New Terms to Foster Recognition

Abstract

The present article is the second of a three-series collection of articles that analyze the power of language to introduce a new set of concepts in contexts where societies can foster peacebuilding in post-conflict scenarios. I build up on Hannah Arendt’s moral responsibility work to understand the need to analyze responsibility in transitional justice frameworks while landing it on peacebuilding discussions. The article advances in how this concept can contribute to fostering recognition, the role it plays in [re]building civic trust and, ultimately, promoting reconciliation. This study is motivated to find a way to engage civil society in the process where social grounds are rethought on respect as a basis. I present a proposal to use the concept of responsibility while suggesting a definition circumscribed to the context of peacebuilding during transition processes.