Examining Forgiveness with Arendt Political Forgiveness and its Impact on Peacebuilding

The term forgiveness is common in the Holy Bible and the central message of Jesus Christ revolves around forgiveness and love for human kind. In fact, Christians are obligated to forgive one another as a prerequisite for their own prayers to be hearken to. As a matter of fact, the concept of forgiveness is a major theme in other religions sects. Beside the above, forgiveness is more often considered primarily as interpersonal experience, which exudes moral rejoinder to a wrongdoing that has specific effects on the personal relationship existing between both the one who is the victim and the wrongdoer. But over the years, forgiveness has been deployed by nation states in different political contexts since the end of the Second World War for the purpose of reconciliation and reconstruction. Thus, there have been attempt to defend a form of forgiveness, one that takes place in public and applies to a wider range of practices in a specific political context.

In this study the researcher deployed qualitative approach to explore the concept forgiveness with Arendt political forgiveness and its impact on peacebuilding in human society. This paper identifies that forgiveness is not generally accepted by some scholars beyond being family and relationship therapy, but not for violent confrontations and acts which has judicial and legal consequences.

Therefore, through exposition of the interplay of forgiveness, revenge, apology and reconciliation this paper contributes to the discourse among scholars globally and also argues that Hannah Arendt political forgiveness is very relevant today in conflict transformation and peacebuilding and why it should be completely integrated into peace and conflict resolution policies of nation states given its viability. And also, that the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOS) should apply forgiveness in peacemaking and peacebuilding in order to transform intractable conflicts.