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Political Science General

The Age of Apology

Facing Up to the Past

edited by Mark Gibney, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, Jean-Marc Coicaud & Niklaus Steiner

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Initial publish date
Nov 2009
Category
General, International
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780812220872
    Publish Date
    Nov 2009
    List Price
    $51.99

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Description

In a turnabout of the cynical belief that might makes right, nations now see fit to issue apologies to peoples and countries they have wronged. We live in an age that seeks to establish political truth, perhaps best exemplified by the creation of truth commissions in societies seeking to emerge from dictatorial pasts. The most noteworthy result of these efforts has been the near-universal realization that a society will not be able successfully to pass into the future until it somehow deals with the horrors of its past.
A number of Western states and institutions have sought to come to terms with their relationships to non-Western states and peoples. Powerful actors and institutions are apologizing to the relatively powerless. What do these apologies mean? Are they an indication of a new international order, either politically or as they relate to international law? Or are these apologies fleeting and insignificant? In The Age of Apology twenty-two law, politics, and human rights scholars explore the legal, political, social, historical, moral, religious, and anthropological aspects of Western apologies in an attempt to answer these questions. Conversely, a nonapology might be as important to study, and several chapters discuss the absence or refusal of apology and how this might be interpreted.

About the authors

Mark Gibney's profile page

Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann holds the Canada Research Chair in International Human Rights and is Professor in the Department of Global Studies and the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann's profile page

Jean-Marc Coicaud's profile page

Niklaus Steiner's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Well written, well analyzed, and well referenced. It will be the most comprehensive book on public apologies. Anyone who is interested in the importance of public apologies will turn to this book.

Aaron Lazare, author of <i>On Apology</i>