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Fostering Reconciliation Through Historical Moral Exemplars in a Postconflict Society

Damaged intergroup relations in postconflict contexts marked by histories of war and human rights violations constitute a major obstacle to peace-building and reconciliation. In addition, intergroup relations tend to be affected by polarized narratives about the past that inhibit the positive consequences of ingroup contact. In this article, we examined the effects of a contact intervention containing narratives of moral exemplars on reconciliation processes in the postgenocide setting of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Results from our 2 studies showed significant positive changes after the contact interventions that highlighted and focused on documented stories of individuals (moral exemplars) saving the lives of their adversaries. We found that focusing on moral exemplars increased reconciliatory beliefs due to enhanced forgiveness. The second study confirmed the positive effects of such interventions on more specific affective, cognitive and behavioral aspects of reconciliation among both former victims and perpetrators. We discuss the importance of the historical narratives used in intervention programs in postconflict settings and draw practical implications from our results.