Suchergebnisse

AbstractTypically, divorce has been accepted as the end of the marriage relationship, and negative interactions associated with divorce have been viewed as part of the separation process. This conceptualization has influenced the constructs of mediation. Approaching the marriage relationship from a family systems perspective—assessing the dominant pattern of closeness and distance negotiation, and reframing anger and conflict as connection strategies in divorcing couples—promote a more comprehensive view of the interactional dynamic of husbands and wives. The author discuss the impact of these strategies on mediation and how they may be indications of reconciliation potential.

This article enquires into the narration of reconciliation in South Africa and its political implications. It scrutinizes the subjects, objects and material practices that flow from the reconciliation story. The investigation turns on two crucial assumptions: (a) that discourse is an ideological system of meaning that constitutes and naturalizes the subjects and objects of political life, and (b) that narrative is a special discursive form, the structural features of which have specific political effects that are not illuminated by a more general discourse analytic approach. A narrative perspective is important because the TRC explicitly undertook the task of telling a story about South Africa's transition from past violence to future reconciliation, and argued that storytelling was fundamental to catharsis, healing, and reconciliation on an individual and a national level. Narrative theory renders more specifically applicable some of the general claims of political discourse analysis; while the insights of political discourse analysis highlight the political contexts and effects of governing narratives to which most narrative theory, on its own, is blind. The combination of these two theoretical premises furnishes a powerful approach to understanding the story about reconciliation told by the TRC, and its political implications.

Early 2005 diplomatic gatherings of 68 leaders have not led to a return to pre-2003 US-European relations. At this point, Europeans and Americans hold two different Weltanschaaung, especially on Iran's nuclear ambitions and the China arms embargo. Relations within the Europe, Russia, and the US triangle are discussed. Despite their agreements on security issues, UN Security Council reforms are likely to complicate relations.