Events

Project Overview and Conference Reference Information

Organizer: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research – Fostering Joint International Research (B) “Toward an International Reconciliation Studies Based on Universal Values and Collective Memory” (Grant No. 23K20033, Principal Investigator: Toyomi Asano)

Co-Organizers

Faculty of Political Science and Economics / Institute for Research in Contemporary Political and Economic Affairs, Waseda University

Research Group on Nationalism and International Reconciliation

Organization for Regional and Inter-regional Studies (ORIS), Waseda University

Institute for International Reconciliation Studies / Institute of Asian Studies, Waseda University

Welcome to Reconciliation Studies Week

International Reconciliation Studies builds upon the tradition of Conflict Resolution Studies that has long focused on post-conflict reconciliation in societies emerging from civil war and democratization. However, it expands the scope of inquiry to include the reconciliation of nations—imagined communities—while also critically engaging with the inherent tensions between reconciliation and concepts of justice. In reality, actors with publicity—ranging from political and diplomatic leaders, civil society activists, and media professionals to ourselves as scholars—frequently appeal to collective memory, universal values, and justice in ways that are strategically aligned or contrasted with actual politics.

Accordingly, International Reconciliation Studies centers its attention on the collective memories, values, and emotions that constitute the imagined or ascribed elements of groups and institutions, such as class, nation, or gender. While one strand of scholarship focuses on the constitutive elements of groups and institutions, another approach has emerged that refrains from viewing these elements merely in terms of their purposes or outcomes. Instead, it emphasizes human action itself as the focal point for analyzing the very essence of reconciliation. (see especially Volumes 1 and 2 of the Reconciliation Studies Series, Akashi Shoten).

In parallel with these developments, Relational Studies on Global Crises—a framework pioneered by Professor Keiko Sakai of Chiba University, our distinguished guest—has highlighted that inter-group relationships themselves are also imagined constructs. Within these imagined relationalities, International Reconciliation Studies seeks to explore how reconciliation can be conceived and imagined. This involves analyzing the conditions under which such relationships come into being, attending to both the socio-economic infrastructure (the material base) and the imaginary realm shaped by human imagination. Situated between these two dimensions are the groups, institutions, and forms of action that mediate and embody reconciliation. By examining how the very elements that constitute groups and institutions—such as gender, ethnicity, and human rights—serve as sources of international conflict, we may begin to see emotionally charged debates around “genuine reconciliation” not as obstacles, but as critical entry points for understanding today’s international society. In doing so, such debates may offer valuable tools for navigating the complexities of global life.

These discussions are by no means limited to Japan. In 2020, the International Association for Reconciliation Studies (IARS) was established with three global hubs at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany), George Mason University (United States), and Waseda University (Japan). The principal investigator of this project has been involved in the founding of the association since its inception, not only organizing its second annual conference in Tokyo but also serving as Vice President of the Association, which is legally registered as a non-profit organization in Germany. (This development builds on the previous “Foundations of International Reconciliation Studies” project (2017–2022), funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as part of a new academic research area, and was carried out in parallel with the Global Asia Project under Waseda University’s Super Global University (SGU) initiative, which focused on training early-career researchers.)

Utilizing this international network for research and education, International Reconciliation Studies aims to foster the exchange and development of emerging scholars while also producing globally relevant and academically rigorous outputs. These outcomes are expected to integrate multiple disciplines—such as Diplomatic History, the History of Political Thought, International Relations, Regional Studies, Comparative Politics, and Civil Society Studies—offering new conceptual frameworks for addressing issues of memory, emotion, and value. The broader goal of this development project is to not only advance these debates internationally but also to enrich the respective disciplines through interdisciplinary collaboration grounded in global engagement.

Our research outcomes will eventually be published as an English book series, and early-career researchers are encouraged to submit their findings as academic journal articles within their respective fields. The inaugural Reconciliation Studies Week, held in February 2025, marks the first concrete step toward realizing this vision. We also warmly encourage you to consider participating in the upcoming Summer Seminar to be held at George Mason University, near Washington, D.C., from September 17 to 24, 2025. This seminar will be organized in coordination with the university’s “Peace Week” events and in collaboration with the Wilson Center and the United States Institute of Peace. For further details, please refer to the official conference booklet. Once again, thank you very much for your participation. We look forward to engaging in meaningful and stimulating discussions with all of you.

(Supplementary Note)
・International Reconciliation Studies has been developed as an extension of Conflict Resolution Studies, which has traditionally focused on post-conflict reconciliation in the aftermath of civil wars and democratization. However, this field incorporates a broader range of actors—including political and diplomatic leaders, civil society activists, media professionals, cultural figures, and academics—and critically examines various forms of reconciliation that unfold between and among these actors. These include reconciliation between citizens (civic reconciliation), between governments (interstate reconciliation), and between nations as imagined communities (international reconciliation), while also attending to the conflicts that may arise in the process of reconciliation itself.
・Although traditionally underexplored in academic research, recent attention has turned to memory, values, and emotions as crucial analytical factors. International Reconciliation Studies addresses reconciliation between nations as imagined communities, but also engages with pressing global issues such as gender, class, ethnicity, and populism—all of which are deeply intertwined with universal values and often accompanied by intense emotional dynamics.
・A significant background to this scholarly development is the 3rd World Congress of the International Association for Reconciliation Studies (IARS), held in August 2022 at George Mason University, just outside Washington, D.C. At this congress, dynamic debates on conflict and reconciliation were conducted by teams of early-career researchers—one based at George Mason University and another from the Jena Center for Reconciliation Studies (JCRS) in Germany—who presented field-based studies primarily focused on the Middle East and Africa. These discussions revealed the urgent need for an East Asian-based team of emerging scholars who can actively contribute to global dialogues on reconciliation. This realization has become the driving force behind our commitment to explore universal values and collective memory as the central axes of International Reconciliation Studies. We hope to continue these conversations with you at George Mason University in the near future.

2025 February 26th
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research – Fostering Joint International Research (B)“Toward an International Reconciliation Studies Based on Universal Values and Collective Memory” (Grant No. 23K20033)
Principal Investigator: Toyomi Asano