The Importance of Trust in Achieving Positive Peace

Everyday interactions in society necessitate a certain level of trust between people, yet the reality of societies characterized by historical injustice and inequalities means that a lack of trust is more likely to be expected in such contexts (Bar-Tal, 2007; Webel & Galtung, 2007). Thus, although a minimal level of trust between people may signify the absence of violent conflict and a relative level of coexistence of social groups, it can also create the illusion of deeper trust between group members and a peaceful society. Galtung’s (1969) crucial work on peace emphasizes a recognition of both negative and positive peace. Accordingly, establishing and maintaining trust is integral to the achievement of positive peace, evident in a growing body of literature focusing on the role that trust plays in promoting peace and reconciliation (Alon & Bar-Tal, 2016; Kelman, 2005). This chapter briefly examines the conceptualization of trust and how it represents a signpost for establishing positive peace characterized by integration and social justice. It also considers some of the barriers to building trust in post-conflict societies, and examines more closely key underlying mechanisms and outcomes of trust in the literature on peacebuilding, providing examples from key conflict contexts such as Northern Ireland. Finally, the interplay of procedural justice and trust in the pursuit of positive peace is considered – one that is characterized not only by absence of violence but by integration and social justice

Putting theory into peaceful practice: insights and reflections on the process of coproducing a school-based intergroup relations intervention with teachers

With the increasing ethnic diversity in school classrooms globally, understanding how best to harness intergroup contact and promote social cohesion is a timely challenge for science, policy, and practice alike. There is an urgent need, therefore, for applied social psychological research that bridges theory and practice in the pursuit of peace. The present article reflects on the process of working with teachers in ethnically diverse secondary schools in England to coproduce an intervention that aimed to promote better intergroup relations among 11-year-old school students. Through a series of workshops, we cocreated a theoretically informed intervention that was then implemented and evaluated in schools. In this article, we discuss our approach to the development of our intervention. We then conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of our research process and approach to coproduction and offer recommendations for researchers aiming to carry out applied research in the pursuit of peace. The appropriateness of social psychological frameworks for promoting intergroup relations, and in turn, peace in real-world contexts and implications for future research and practice are discussed

Peer inclusion and school equality norm associations with intergroup contact, and academic self‐efficacy amongst ethnic majority and ethnic minority youth

Social norms are important predictors of youth attitudes and behaviours. There is substantial evidence that positive and meaningful intergroup contact supported by inclusive norms can have a range of benefits beyond prejudice reduction. The present research explores whether perceived peer inclusion norms and perceived norms of equality in school are associated with better quality and more frequent intergroup contact and in turn, whether these are associated with better academic self-efficacy. To test these assertions, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with ethnic majority and ethnic minority youth aged 11–12 (n = 629, 48% female, 43% minority ethnic) attending one of four ethnically diverse secondary schools in England. In support of our hypotheses, we found that both perceived inclusive peer norms and perceived school equality norms were associated with higher quantity and quality of contact for both ethnic majority and minority group youth. An indirect effect was observed whereby perceived peer norms of inclusion and school norms of equality were associated with higher academic self-efficacy through higher quality outgroup contact for both groups. No indirect effect was observed for contact quantity. Findings evidence the importance of perceived peer and school equality norms as well as intergroup contact effects for outcomes that go beyond prejudice reduction, in this case academic self-efficacy

Territoriality and migration in a divided society: Lay theories of citizenship and place in Northern Ireland.

The study of citizenship has increasingly focused on the ways in which spatialized understandings of the concept can be used to marginalise and exclude social groups: exclusive constructions of national boundaries, local neighbourhoods and public spaces can deny marginalised groups their social and political rights. Less attention has been paid to how constructions of place can accommodate different groups’ rights and promote peaceful coexistence. This is particularly important in locations where migration disrupts existing understandings (‘lay theories’) of the relationship between residency, identity and collective rights. The present research examines how spatialized understandings of citizenship shape perceptions of intergroup mixing in previously segregated areas of a post-conflict society. Critical Discursive Social Psychological (CDSP) analysis of 30 interviews with long-term residents and recent migrants to increasingly mixed areas of Belfast shows that, while all participants acknowledged Northern Ireland’s territorialisation, different lay theories of citizenship underpin the possibility and desirability of intergroup coexistence. Long-term residents drew upon understandings of the negative citizenry of the outgroup to argue against the possibility of peaceful coexistence within their locale, while recent incomers gave evidence of their own experiences of good citizenship within the shared spaces of neighbourhood to demonstrate that this could and should be achieved. The implications of lay theories of citizenship for the study of residential migration and mixing are discussed

Collectively coping with contact: The role of intragroup support in dealing with the challenges of intergroup mixing in residential contexts

The Social Identity approach to stress has shown how intragroup support processes shape individuals’ responses to stress across healthcare, workplace and community settings. However the issue of how these ‘Social Cure’ processes can help cope with the stress of intergroup contact has yet to be explored. This is particularly important given the pivotal role of intergroup threat and anxiety in the experience of contact as well as the effect of contact on extending the boundaries of group inclusion. The present study applies this perspective to a real-life instance of residential contact in a divided society. Semi-structured interviews with 14 Catholic and 13 Protestant new residents of increasingly mixed areas of Belfast city, Northern Ireland, were thematically analysed. Results highlight that transitioning to mixed communities was fraught with intergroup anxiety, especially for those coming from ‘single-identity’ areas. Help from existing residents, especially when offered by members of other religious denominations, signalled a ‘mixed community ethos’ to new residents which facilitated adopting and sharing this identity. This shared identity then enabled them to deal with unexpected intergroup threats and provided resilience to future sectarian division. New residents who did not adopt this shared identity remained isolated, fearful and prone to negative contact

Closing chapters of the past? Rhetorical strategies in political apologies for human rights violations across the world

Over the past decades, an increasing number of countries have apologized for human rights violations in the recent or distant past. Although this has led to considerable debate about the value and meaning of apologies and their potential as a transformative mechanism, little is known about how countries across the world try to address and redress past wrongdoings in these statements. Relying on a database of apologies that have been offered worldwide by states or state representatives for human rights violations, we identified various rhetorical strategies that diverse countries use—to varying degrees—to (1) break from or acknowledge past wrongdoings, (2) bridge past wrongdoings with future intentions, and (3) bond with the intended recipients of the apology. In this article, we shed light on the strategies we identified in this regard. In doing so, we show how countries and their representatives use apologies not only or necessarily to address the needs of victims or their relatives, but also to portray and understand themselves, whereby there is substantial overlap in the types of rhetorical strategies and scripts that they use to accomplish this.</p

“Sorry for what we did”: A Social Psychological Understanding of Political and Intergroup Apologies (Introduction to the Special Issue)

Research on political apologies spans sociopolitical contexts and disciplines and methodological frameworks. In the rise of interest in political apologies, especially in light of ‘the age of apologies’, social psychologists strive to understand mechanisms of issuing, perception and evaluation of political apologies from many perspectives. This special issue aims to highlight the important role of social psychological theory in understanding political apologies and deepening knowledge in this field. The papers, which comprise the special issue, offer a detailed and comprehensive study of political apology, including both theoretical and methodological lens to enrich understanding of the topic. Concluding, all the papers of this special issue can be of interest in academics and researchers, as well as policy-makers and other stakeholders beyond academia.</p