ABSTRACT
It is often assumed that if people, those who oppose one another, meet, their very meeting creates a new reality, which is characterized by mutuality and by the exchange of views and ideas. The implication is that the encounter itself brings the parties closer, and that the belief or anticipation that accompanies the encounter acts-at least to some extent-as a harmonizing factor in human reality. This assumption is thought to apply to many modes of human contact, including those in the political realm.
