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Contrary Memories: Basis, Chances and Constraints of Dealing with the Past in Georgian-Abkhaz Dialogue

Type: Text

Title: Contrary Memories

Subtitle: Basis, Chances and Constraints of Dealing with the Past in Georgian-Abkhaz Dialogue

Creator: Andrea Zemskov-Züge

DOI: 10.15457/cp_1_151-166

Date of Publication: 19.02.2018

License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Language: English

Availability: Download

Description: In my paper, I will focus on the transitional justice mechanisms of truth finding and reconciliation. In recent years, there have been some fruitful attempts to transform the perception of past violence and enable processes of reconciliation between Georgian and Abkhaz stakeholders of war memorialization. The Berghof Foundation has engaged in the wide-scale process of tackling these issues by taking into account differing – even contradictory – perceptions of past events on both sides of the conflict divide. I will explore the predominant “conflict supporting narratives” (Bar-Tal 2014) in perceptions of the parties to the conflict and their common (violent) past. Subsequently, I will share some lessons learned and basic working principles in addressing these contradictory perceptions and creating space for innovative approaches to the deadlock of competing narratives in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict setting.

Geographical Area: South Caucasus, Georgia, Abkhazia

Keywords: dealing with the past, narratives, reconciliation, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, dialogue, Caucasus, history, Abkhazia, Georgia

Structured recordings: Relitz, Sebastian (ed.): Obstacles and Opportunities for Dialogue and Cooperation in Protracted Conflicts. Regensburg: Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS), 2018. ISBN: 978-3-945232-01-9. http://doi.org/10.15457/cp_1.

Citation: Zemskov-Züge, Andrea (2018): Contrary Memories: Basis, Chances and Constraints of Dealing with the Past in Georgian-Abkhaz Dialogue. Version: 1. Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS). Text. http://doi.org/10.15457/cp_1_151-166.