by Tristan Anne Borer

Borer examines the linking of the term "success" with the term "reconciliation," in relation to assessing the work of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). She focuses specifically on the term "reconciliation" and illustrates that the concept has been used in two very different ways in debates surrounding the TRC: an interpersonal interpretation of the concept, in which reconciliation occurs between individuals, and a "national unity" interpretation of reconciliation with an emphasis on political institutions, respect for the rule of law, and building a human rights culture. She suggests that the co-existence of these two different understandings of reconciliation in South Africa has deep implications for how one might understand the "success" of the TRC.

Tristan Anne Borer is associate professor in the Department of Government at Connecticut College. She was a visiting fellow at the Kroc Institute in 1999.

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