ABSTRACT
When I accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, I reflected on the fact that instead of entering a millennium of peace, the world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place than it was in the last century. The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect. There is a plethora of civil wars, unrestrained by the rules of the Geneva Convention, within which an overwhelming portion of the casualties are unarmed civilians who have no ability to defend themselves. And recent appalling acts of terrorism have reminded us that no nation, even a superpower, is invulnerable. Given this state of affairs, how can we begin to conceive of reconciliation in conflicts so volatile and intractable?
