Unveiling Angola's Reconciliation Initiative: Citizens' Perspectives and Perceptions

• In Event: Past Meets Present: Navigating the Relevance of History in Today’s Context

Abstract

For almost 17 years Angola pursued a policy of 'forgive and forget' regarding its civil war (1975-2002) employing hardly any transitional justice initiatives. This changed in 2019 when the government appointed a reconciliation commission aiming to 'heal the psychological wounds of families' and 'restore the spirit of brotherhood among Angolans'. The commission represents a local initiative operating without any support or interference from international actors. Whilst it is known from literature that citizens in post-conflict societies tend to see local and embedded transitional justice approaches as more legitimate, Angola's reconciliation commission was installed by an authoritarian regime with waning support from a largely discontent population. This leads to the question how the population perceives the commission's work. Our paper presents the results of a survey study among the population of two medium-sized Angolan towns and a series of interviews with villagers in rural Angola on knowledge about and perceptions of the reconciliation commission and its activities.

Author

• Maarten van Munster, PhD researcher VU, lecturer University of applied science The Hague