Global reconciliation : responding to tension through a local-global process

In this chapter we begin by mapping some basic changes in the pattern of violence across the globe. This is necessary to understand the demands which processes of reconciliation are called upon to mitigate. We then examine the limits of conventional national reconciliation processes, suggesting that they tend to focus on dialogue in the context of state-run reconciliation commissions rather than recognizing the importance of both global processes and local differences. Finally, we argue that responding to the changing nature of violence in a globalizing world requires a different approach that works across all levels from the local to the global" and back again" including but not centring on the national as reconciliation processes currently do.