>Mehrwert< von Versöhnung gegenüber einem Friedensvertrag? Kann es am Ende von Konflikttransformationsprozessen zu einer dauerhaften Versöhnung kommen?

Covid-19, climate change, populism or digitalization and most recently the Ukraine war made the question of the possibility and impossibility of reconciliation one of the most relevant topics of our time. The book deals with the outstanding social significance of reconciliation from an interdisciplinary perspective. The researchers compare and discuss the understanding of reconciliation in theology, philosophy, law and social sciences, in history and art history. In addition, reconciliation processes and also the limits of reconciliation are examined on the basis of case studies. The contributions aim at answering the following questions: Which conceptual equivalents are used in other cultures and religions instead of the Christian or the secularized, political, 'Western' concept of reconciliation? How, when and why is 'reconciliation' - after a ceasefire or a first public commitment to peace - achieved in different cultures? What is the 'added value' of reconciliation over a peace agreement? Can lasting reconciliation occur at the end of conflict transformation processes? The questions will be discussed in the series against the background of the tension between reconciliation and irreconcilability.