Rethinking Reconciliation: The Lessons from the Balkans and South Africa

Reconciliation, described as coming to terms with the past, is considered an important component of normalization and development in post-conflict societies. The international community and some political elites promote it as a desired approach to (re)establishing trust and cooperation, ideally leading to clean slate situation, which might be possible only if all sides are fully committed to the process and unconditionally accept its outcomes. Reality, however, is often different. Exploring concepts, practices and experiences in the Balkans and South Africa the contribution studies successes, problems and failures of reconciliation. It attempts to rethink and re-conceptualize reconciliation and develop alternative approaches

A Discourse on Machiavelli’s New Rome

In the first part of the paper the author presents the key theses of Vickie Sullivan’s‎reading of Machiavelli. Sullivan argues that, in order to prevent corruption,‎Machiavelli innovatively reworks elements of Christian teaching‎for entirely temporal purposes and offers a specific, modern solution, ‘new‎Rome’, in the form of an irreligious, fearful republic which early and effectively‎punishes the ambitious few seeking to establish tyranny. In the internal‎realm of the city, the Florentine reduces class desires of the plebs and the‎greats under the common goal of acquisition. A bellicose, tumultuous republic‎satisfies the desires of all the social actors, resulting in a lasting political order.‎In the second part the author critically engages with Sullivan’s interpretation,‎drawing on Claude Lefort’s interpretation of Machiavelli. Surprisingly,‎Lefort’s groundbreaking work on Machiavelli has been absent in Straussian‎readings of the Florentine. By highlighting the authentically democratic nature‎of Machiavelli’s project, in contrast with Sullivan’s reading, an entirely‎different ‘new Rome’ arises on the horizon.