Northeastern Political Science Association

A Mimetic Perspective on Conflict Resolution

Author(s): Roberto Farneti
Source: Polity, Vol. 41, No. 4 (October 2009), pp. 536-558
Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40587510
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Polity Volume41, Number4 October2009

PoliticalScienceAssociation0032-3497/09
2009 Northeastern
www.palgrave-journal8.com/polity/

A Mimetic Perspective on
Conflict Resolution*
RobertoFarneti

Free University
of Bozen/Bolzano

Current
theoriesof international
resolutionseem to reston
justice and conflict
theassumptionthatdiscordamong humanscan, in principle,be settledbymeans
ofa fairallocationofa limitedset ofavailable goods. The assumption,in turn,is
grounded in the idea (supportedby John Rawls) that peoples of genuinely
democraticand liberalsocieties"havenothingtogo to war about,"once theirbasic
needs are satisfiedand theirfundamental
interests
made fully
compatiblewiththose
ofotherdemocraticpeoples. Thearticlebuildson Ren Girards theoryof "mimetic
desire"to show thatthenotionof "peace bysatisfaction"
is problematic:
peoples
needsand desires,whichare mimeticinnature,are hardlyextinguishable.
Classical
resolutionfailto addressthismimeticdynamicand wrongly
approachesto conflict
assume that thereis an objectivemeasure of desire to be filledto satisfythe
contenders.Thesolutionto thedilemmainvolvesthereflective
abilityofthepeople
engaged in a disputeto addressthe (mimetic)sources of theiranimosity.
Polity(2009) 41, 536-558 doi:10.1057/pol.2009.2;
publishedonline 14 July2009
theories
resolution;
Keywords Ren Girard;mimetictheory;conflict
ofjustice;JohnRawls
Roberto Farneti is AssistantProfessor
ofPoliticsat theSchool ofEconomicsand
of Bozen/Bolzano and is the recipientof an
Managementof the Free University
Alexandervon HumboldtFellowshipin the Clusterof Excellenceon Formationof
NormativeOrdersat theJ.W.GoetheUniversitt
in Frankfurt
a.m. He has published
on Hobbesand on issuesofpoliticaltheory,
and can be reachedat rfarneti@unibz.it.

Introduction
Accordingto one canonical story,discord and animosityamong humans
arise when more people striveto attainnon-divisiblegoods. PeterWallensteen
*Anearlierversionofthisarticlewas presentedas a conferencepaper at theAmsterdam
Colloquium
on Violence and Reconciliationin July2007. I thanktwo anonymousreaders forPolity,
who offered
valuable commentsand insightson an earlierversion,as well as theeditorofPolity.
Forclose scrutiny
of
earlierdraftsand fortheirtimein discussingsome partsofthe manuscriptI should thankMarkAnspach,
WolfgangPalaver,Simon Simonse,AaronThomas,and GeorgeWright.

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RobertoFarneti 537

of a conflictas a social situation,

in
has proposed"a completedefinition
oftwoactors(parties)striaeto acquireat thesame moment
whicha minimum
Conflict
also ariseswhenpeople
in timean availableset ofscarceresources"1
of availableresourcesthatbenefit
dictaterulesconcerningthe distribution
Discord,however,mayarise out of
onlya limitednumberof individuals.2
have biased or
in people'sbeliefsand practicesor whenindividuals
diversity
whichlead themto "assessa conflict
and
distorted
opinionsor perceptions,
because of differing
evaluatea case or the worthof an itemdifferently
To scholars and those who participatein peace-building
perceptions."3
discourse,thisperspective
suggeststhe relevanceof Hegel'sview thatthe
whichis disinterested
of all "civilsuits"requires"a thirdjudgement
settlement
in thething!'4

a disputeis
a justand "disinterested"
wayofhandling
Invoking
justice,namely,
to
its
successful
and
for
those
committed
a
natural
resolution,
option
arguably
theirelective
resolution
one mayarguethattheoriesofjusticefindin conflict
fieldofapplication.
Theaimofthisarticleistoexposethebiasesofthecanonical
ofjusticeare subjectto a number
theories
how
theattendant
storybyshowing
I shall arguethat
about the ontologicalstatusof thething.5
of assumptions
a
"serious
a
classical
ontology"6) viewallegingthat
ontology(or
by holding
- current
theoriesof
discordarisesoverthepossessionofthingsthatare there
conflictresolutionare doomed to failure.These theoriesseem unable to
thatpeople makewhentheyare
commitments"
the"ontological
acknowledge
issues.Whenpushedby reciprocalanimosity,
involvedin contentious
people
seemtodescendintowhatQuinecalledan "overpopulated
universe,"
pullulating
wouldgrantexistence.7
withitemstowhichonlya non-serious
ontology
Conflict
Resolution:War,Peace and theGlobalSystem(London:
1. PeterWallensteen,Understanding
SAGE,2002), 16.
2. The word "distribution"
may sound misleading; it stands at the center of a semantic area
identifiedby variouscocnate termssuch as restitution,
restoration,
reparation,etc.
3. CarrieJ.Menkel-Meadow,
ed., DisputeResolution:BeyondtheAdversarialModel (New York:Aspen
Publishers,2005), 27.
4. Georg W Hegel, Encyclopediaof the PhilosophicalSciences in Outline(New York:Continuum,
19901 413: emphasisadded.
5. In the firstsection I will address the mutual implicationof justice and peace-building.I will
discuss the standardview accordingto which conflictpreventionand peace-building(as distinctfrom
whose case is not discussed in thisarticle) involve"buildinga viable democracy
peace-enforcement,
and its institutions,
creating confidence between a governmentand population, structuringthe
and
protectionand promotionof human rights,the eliminationof all formsof genderdiscrimination,
M. Van der Stoel, "The Role of the CSCE High Commissioneron National
respect for minorities."
Minoritiesin CSCE PreventiveDiplomacy^'The Challenge of PreventiveDiplomacy ed. S. Carlsson
forForeignAffairs,
1994), 37.
(Stockholm:Ministry
6. JohnHeil, Froman OntologicalPointof View(Oxford:ClarendonPress,2003).
7. WillardQuine, ed., "On What There Is,"in Froma Logical Pointof View (Cambridge: Harvard
Press,1953).
University

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538 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Thewordontology
whenitcomestosuch
maysounda bitpuzzling,
especially
issues
as
conflict
and
one
the
thatthe
resolution,
practical
get impression
might
is
too
abstract.
It
is
not.8
issues
of
conflict
argument becoming
Couching
inontological
resolution
terms
tease
out
the
mechanism
which
"civil
mayhelp
by
arisesovertheappropriation
suits"are settled.Ifconflict
of some stakesthat
orprovidereasonsforaction,a fair(i.e. just)settlement
constitute
of
ultimately
suchstakes,however
the
contenders.9
Here
those
with
a
stake
partial,
maysatisfy
in thesuitappearto be committed
to obtaining
goodsto whichtheyascribea
can
describe
the
facts
thatprompted
theiractions
"goodmaking
quality."10
They
in termsthatmakeexplicitthescope oftheircommitments.
and the
Ontology
theories
a
fair
resolution
of
conflicts
bear
intimate
mutual
and
relations,
guiding
in factmajorconcernsforinternational
the
of
"truth
justiceguide
policies
commissions
and fact-finding
bodies."11
Inthefollowing
I shallconsiderhowa workable
ofconflict
resolution
theory
benefit
from
of
the
of
may
descriptions
origin humandiscordthatdeviatefrom
I shallfocusattention
theclassicalapproach.12
on instancesofhumandiscord
thatseem typically
to the arrangements
insensitive
dictatedby a thirdparty
"disinterested
inthething."
Theconventional
ofhuman
approachon theorigins
discordfailstoaccountfora blindspot,a greyzonethatremains
unaddressed
by
the theoriesthatadopt thisapproach,an area in whichconflictdoes not
ariseovertheappropriation
of existing
it is discorditselfthat
goods.Rather,
to rationalize
promptsthe stakes,in the sense thattheycome to function
The mutualsignalling(blaming,scolding,etc.) that
priorinimicalattitudes.
in open manifestations
eventuates
ofhostility
expressesthedepthoftheagents'
forthethingat stake.Itexpressesin otherwordsthe"ontological
appreciation
commitments"
to thingsor factswhose existenceseems,on closerscrutiny,
I shall make a case forthe
instrumental
to discorditself.In the following
8. JohnMilbank,BeingReconciled:Ontologyand Pardon(London: Routledge,2003), and FrankG.
A MoralOntologyfora TheisticEthics:Gathering
theNationsin Love and Justice(Aldershot:
Kirkpatrick,
Ashgate,2003) address the ontologicalimplicationsof conflictresolution.
9. I am followingJosephRaz, PracticalReason and Norms,2nd ed. (Princeton:PrincetonUniversity
Press,1990), in positingthatreasons are facts,so thatresponsivenessto reasons can be explained in
termsof a thoughtful
adjustmentto a given factor state of affairs.People act in lightof a particular
purpose,and a reason forsomeone to q> requiresthathe "has some motivewhich will be served or
furthered
BernardWilliams,Moral Luck (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press, 1981),
by his <p-ing."
103.
10. JosephRaz, ed., "Agency,
Reason, and the Good," in EngagingReason: On the Theoryof Value
and Action(Oxford:OxfordUniversity
Press,1999), 23.
11. W J. Long, and P Brecke,Warand Reconciliation:Reason and Emotionin ConflictResolution
(Cambridge,MA:The MIT Press,2003), 69; emphasisadded.
12. Handbooks on conflictresolutionindicate, among the roots of human discord, poverty,
of goals, environmentaldegradation,and lack of legitimatepolitical
overpopulation,incompatibility
Foran overview,see S. J.Stedman,"Alchemyfora New WorldOrder:OversellingPreventive
institutions.
74 (May/June1995): 318.
Diplomacy"ForeignAffairs

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RobertoFarneti 539

non-existence
of such things.I shallarguethattheydo nothave an existence
thatpeople make as soon as theystart
separatefromthe commitments
at
their
rivals
for
reasons
thathave littleto do withontological
looking
as
enemies.
scarcity
- alternative
Ifone stresses
inimicalattitudes,"
thealternative
routes
the"prior
routeallegingthatconflicts
arisefromcompetition
to thestandardnormative
- are
and de-escalate
once resources
are reallocated
overscarceresources
fairly
as
social
and
behavioral
offered
such
disciplines
psychology
biologyand
by
that
are
to
the
loaded
notion
disciplines
seeking replace normatively
psychology,
Butthesame disciplines,
ofagencywiththemoreneutralconceptofbehavior.
ofthesprings
ofhumanbehavior,
have
whileoffering
a challenging
description
the
naturalistic
to
failedto articulatea distinctively
response
problemof
normative
and is articulated
whosegrammar
remainsultimately
reconciliation,
and retribution.13
Some authorshave
conceptssuch as justice,equity,
through
underlie
our
for
that
stressed
the"natural
propensities
capacity peace-making,"14
failto acknowledgethe kindof
accountsof reconciliation
but dispositional
normativeforce broughtabout by peace-makingarrangements;
however,
conflict
resolution"15
as
observed
or
"natural
dispositional
peace-making
stimuliand can
is overlysensitiveto adverseenvironmental
amongprimates
for
effective
used
as
a
be
primer devising
reconciliatory
strategies
hardly
forhumans.16
to strategies
focusedon
In thisarticleI seekto delineatea viablealternative
the
of
our
without
natural
psychologies.
dispositions
ignoring biologicalmakeup
- and a key concept in
One of the key conceptsin contemporary
theory
- is "satisfaction,"
butsatisfaction
is
Rawls'saccountofthe"LawofthePeople"
therefore
well
inasmuch
as
are
satisfied
and
not
normative, biological,
people
rivalsnotso muchaftergaininga
preparedto makepeace withtheirformer
but
rather
after
a fairamountoftheavailable
amount
of
receiving
goods
given
to normativeconcepts.Christopher
13. Arguably,
Boehm,
primatesdo make peace withoutresorting
"Global ConflictResolution:An AnthropologicalDiagnosis of Problemswith WorldGovernance,"in
and PublicPolicyAdvocates,ed. R. W
Evolutionary
Psychologyand Violence:A PrimerforPolicymakers
Co. and London: Praeger,2003), 203-38, is an attemptat exploringthe
Bloom and N. Dess (Westport,
exemplarycharacterof naturalconflictresolutionamone primates.
14. Boehm, "Global ConflictResolution,"emphasis added.
Resolution(Berkeley:University
of
15. FilippoAureliand FransB. M. de Waal, eds., NaturalConflict
CaliforniaPress,2000).
16. In thisarticleI oftenuse reconciliationand conflictresolutionas mutuallyentailingnotions,and
of new societal beliefsand a peaceful ethos,
notin thesense thatreconciliationconcernsthe formation
and conflictresolutionbeing the "formal"aspect of the process, as Bar-Taldoes. See Daniel Bar-Tal,
"From IntractableConflictthroughConflictResolution to Reconciliation: Psychological Analysis,"
2 (2000): 351-65. 1thinkthetwoexpressionsreferto twodifferent
PoliticalPsychology
waysto look at the
same phenomenon,and stressingthe distinctionhas, in my view, the sole effectof suggestinga
separationbetween formand contentthatdoes not seem epistemicallypromising.

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540 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

's theory
Thearticlebuildson RenGirard
ofmimetic
desiretoshowthat
goods.17
thenotionofsatisfaction
is problematic,
inasmuchas desire,beingmimetic
in
is
Classical
to
conflict
resolution
fail
nature, hardly
approaches
extinguishable.18
assumethatthereis an objective
to addressthismimetic
dynamicand wrongly
"measureofdesire"to be filledthatwillsatisfy
thecontenders.
Thesolutionto
thedilemma,we willsee, is normative,
notnatural,
insofar
as it involvesthe
reflective
abilityof thepeople involvedin a disputeto addressthe (mimetic)
of
sources theiranimosity
and thereby
undothebiasedontologies
(reflectively)
thatsustainhostility
and conflict.19

ConflictResolutionand Theoriesof Justice:An Overview

- when, for
Discord manifestsitselfwhen individualpurposesconflict
the
of
is
insufficient
to
the
wishes
and
instance, supply goods
expectations
satisfy
oftheparties.
A case in pointis Hobbes'sDe Civei.6,inwhichitis claimedthat
"themostfrequent
reasonswhymendesireto hurteach other,
arisehence,that
men
at
the
same
time
have
an
for
the
same
simul
many
Appetite
thing[quodmulti
eandemremappetant]
often
can
neither
in
common
; which,yet,very
they
enjoy
nordivideit."20
Thiswayofputting
to be sure,entailsa tight
connection
things,
betweenviolence and injustice,insofaras violence arises when people
biasesand difficulties
in theallocationofgoods.21
experience
EliasCanetti
describes
and showshow
justiceas "thelawofdividing"22
aptly
in archaicsocietiesthe fairdistribution
of availablegoods was commonly
meansof forestalling
discordwithinthe group.As
perceivedas a powerful
17. JohnRawls,TheLaw ofPeoples (Cambridge:HarvardUniversity
Press,1999),47ff.To Rawls,the
peoples of genuinelydemocraticand liberalsocieties are "satisfiedpeoples," in the sense that"their
interests
basic needs are met,and theirfundamental
are fullycompatiblewiththoseofotherdemocratic
peoples .... Allbeingsatisfiedin thisway,liberalpeoples have nothingto go to war about" (77?eLaw of
Peoples,47).
18. Accordingto Girard"once his basic needs are satisfied(indeed sometimeseven before),man is
subjectto intensedesires,thoughhe maynotknowpreciselyforwhat."These desiresare called mimetic
inasmuchas thesubjectturnsto anotherperson"to informhimofwhathe should desire" Ren Girard,
Violenceand theSacred (Baltimoreand London: JohnsHopkinsUniversity
Press,1997),46. Since these
desiresare notegocentric,or based on the psychologyof the individualtakenin isolationfromsociety,
theirintensity
cannot be measuredbysimplysurveying
the preferencesand psychologicalbiases of the
desiringsubject. I shall expand on Girardon mimeticdesire below,in the nextsection.
19. Korsgaardmakes clear this mutualrelationshipbetween reflexivity
we have
and normativity:
normativeproblemsinasmuchas we are reflective
beings,in thesense thatwe have "to figureout what
to believe and what to do." ChristineKorsgaard,The Sources of Normativity
(Cambridge:Cambridge
we would nothave normativeproblems.
Press,1996),46. Ifwe were notcapable of reflection
University
20. Hobbes, though,does not say thatthe classical case is universallyapplicable, as one of the
principled"causes of quarrel"thathe cites is actuallyvainloryHobbes, Leviathanvi.39.
21. It seems likelythatthisway of thinkingoriginatedin Plato,who maintainedthat"it'sover the
gainingof wealththatall wars take place." Plato,Phaedo 66d.
22. Elias Canetti,Masse und Macht(Frankfurt
a. M.: FischerVerlag,1994), 107.

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RobertoFarneti 541

sourcesofgrievance
haveoftenbeen "associated
withstructural
inthe
injustice,"
shape of powerimbalancesand inequitablesocial and economicrelations,
has heldtheories
ofjusticeto be themostpowerful
western
politicalphilosophy
meansofbuilding
a well-ordered
As a consequence,itis consistently
society.23
assumedbystudents
ofconflict
resolution
thatanyviablemechanism
ofpeacein whichtheparties
procedures
makingrequires"thecreationof independent
can haveconfidence."24
Aninfluential
straininwestern
contendsthatmajorpolitical
politicalthought
evils,suchas unjustwars,oppression,
etc.,couldbe eliminated
just
byfollowing
social policies.JohnRawls,forone,has mentioned
justified)
(namely,
publicly
two basic "limitsto reconciliation":
and the sense
religiousfundamentalism
of spiritual
thatbefallsus whenour institutions
emptiness
neglectour ideals.
A liberaleducationshouldsupportoursearchforsuch idealsbutshouldalso
avoidpoliticizing
and diminishing
them"forideological
them,namely,
perverting
ends."25
Drivenby ideologicalconcerns,politicalinstitutions
reinforce
some
delusions
abouttheconstruction
ofsocialjusticeortheidentification
widespread
and unrest.
oftheactualcausesofsocialpoverty
the
idea
that
forsocial
Although
onlyjusticeprovidesa workablefoothold
aimed
at
order
and
is
back
to
the
of
old,
policies
securing
stability
dating
writings
oftimesinthecourseofthe
Platoand Aristotle,
ithas beenreworked
a number
A veryclearstatement
oftheWest.26
oftheidea thatconflict
intellectual
history
in
resides
the
to
allocate
was putforward
prevention
ability
goodsfairly
bythe
who
stated
that
"natural
is
a
Laertius,
philosopher
justice
Diogenes
symbolor
from
of
to
one
man
or
expression expediency, prevent
harming beingharmed
Mill
"in
another."27
John
Stuart
maintains
that
in
by
manycases,an individual,
a
and
therefore
causes
or
object,necessarily
pursuinglegitimate
legitimately
pain
a good whichtheyhad a reasonablehope of
loss to others,or intercepts
Millfurther
identifies
"bad social institutions"
as thosethatfailto
obtaining."28
the
outburst
of
discord
humans.
If
the
is to
prevent
purposeofinstitutions
among
23. See Ho-WanJeong,"Researchon ConflictResolution,"Conflict
Resolution:Dynamics,Process,
and Structure
(Aldershot:Ashgate,1999), 3-34.
24. Wallensteen,Understanding
Conflict
Resolution,38.
25. Rawls,The Law ofPeoples, 127.
26. "Betweenlifethusrefinedand humanized,and thatlifeofsavagery,nothingmarksthedifference
so clearlyas law and violence [ius atque vis]. Whicheverofthetwowe are unwillingto use, we mustuse
theother.Ifwe would have violence abolished,law mustprevail,thatis,theadministration
ofjustice,on
whichthe law whollydepends; ifwe dislikethe administration
ofjustice,or ifthereis none, forcemust
rule [vis domineturnecesse est]."Cicero,Pro Sestio i.42.
27. Diogenes Laertius,Lives ofEminentPhilosophersX.I50.31. The tradition,
though,is much older.
Epicurusstatedthat"justiceis nothingon itsown, butwheneverand whereverpeople interactwithone
anotheritis a kindofcompact notto harmor be harmed"(KuriaiDoxai 33; cf.31, 32, and 36, and Plato,
Republic2.358e3-359b5).See also Lucretius,De rerumnatura5.1019-1027.
28. JohnStuartMill,On Liberty(Harmondsworth:
Penguin,1982), 163.

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542 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

prevent
peoplefrompursuing
goodsthat,in Hobbes'swords,"theycan neither
in
nor
soundsocialinstitutions
arethosebestsuitedto
enjoy common, yetdivide,"
civil
strife.
prevent
Thisstandard
viewofconflict
resolution
is supported
bymajorinternational
commissions
of
conflict
and
"contact
prevention,
agencies,
groups."In their
routine
these
refer
to
such
obstaclesto the
pronouncements agenciesinsistently
achievement
of peace as resurgent
economicnationalism
and protectionism.
and international
Governments
agenciesseem farmorecapable todaythan
ever before of facilitating
cooperationamong different
groups through
communication
and regulation,
buta slight
a justsetofarrangements
lapsefrom
in international
and violence
disputesmaypave thewayto a road "toconflict
andwar."29
scholarsof international
politics,"democratic
peace"
Amongcontemporary
theorysimilarlypresumesthat democraciespromotepeaceful resolution
of differences
because theyofferfairerdistribution
of valued resources.
Democracies
liberalprinciples
are,accordingto thebriefgenealogy
supporting
outlinedabove,betterpreparedto check internal
conflict.
Accordingto the
conventional
liberalassumption,
material
gains,ifsupported
byjustinstitutions,
increasethe likelihood
thatpeople willbe satisfied
and thereby
reducetheir
mutualhostility.
Notallscholarsagree,however,
thatthisprinciple
can be extendeduniversally.
Some have challengedthe "liberalassumption"
thatforeigninvestment
in
nationsis "alwaysan engineof development
or thatdevelopment
developing
meansbetterhumanrights
thatis to say,less repression
standards,"
necessarily
and conflictcan be eradicated
and less civilwar.30The idea thathostility
has been challengedby
designedsocial institutions
by means of properly
is pledgedneverto
thatthis"isthelessonliberalism
StanleyFish,whocounters
learnbecause underlying
liberalthought
is the assumption
that,givenworld
'outlaws'havebeen discounted
enoughand time(and so longas embarrassing
in advance), difference
and conflictcan alwaysbe resolvedby rational
deliberation."31
betweenadvocatesof liberalinstitutions
and the
To followthisargument
The
of liberalism.
sceptics,I proposeto begin witha minimaldefinition
kindofliberalism
thatFishseemsto havein mindis thatdiscussedinacademic
afterthepublication
of Rawls'sA Theory
ofJustice.
One basic precept
forums
29. See R. Ruggiero,Managing a Worldof Free Tradeand Deep Interdependence(1996). http://
www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres96_e/pr055_e.htm.
30. ChristianDavenport,StateRepressionand theDomesticDemocraticPeace (New York:Cambridge
Press,2007), 89.
University
or WhyLiberalsare Incapable ofThinkingabout Hate
31. StanleyFish,"BoutiqueMulticulturalism,
Speech" CriticalInquiry1 (1997): 378-95 at 392.

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RobertoFarneti 543

of thiskind of liberalismis thatdiscordcan, in principle,be settledby

means of a fairarrangement
of stakesthatconstitute
reasonsforaction.
The arrangement
is valuedand ultimately
the
supportedby
partiesinvolved,
whichsignaltheircommitments
to reformulate
theirearlierclaimsover the
goods at stake.32The talk of justice and economic appeasementissued
is a reason-laden
inwhichtheformer
contenders
discourse,
bythe"third
party"
and
satisfaction
of
the
rules
which
the
stakesare
express
recognition
by
assigned.
Yetthisdiscoursecan generatedifficulties
and areas of misunderstanding
if
think
that
are
treated
amongpeople they
they being
badlyor unfairly
bytheir
In a situationin which people have "conflicting
institutions.
views about
theexpected"mutual
is hardly
to laythe
aspectsoftheworld,"
reckoning"
likely
for
a
more
inclusive
level
of
discourse
which
a
disinterested
third
groundwork
by
"can
assess
the
that
are
in
distributed
Mutual
is
party
goods
society."33
reckoning
if
the
in
a
involved
share
the
same
possibleonly
people
dispute
ontological
framework
and reflectively
reviewtheirpsychological
biases and evaluative
mistakes.
Suchmistakes
can be easilyamendedbyinterventions
ofrecognizably
soundsocialinstitutions,
whichplaytheroleofa third
disinterested
"inthe
party
on
a
who
can
People
thing."
rationally
agree
givenarrangement ideallyconverge
on a setofassumptions
on thestake'sintrinsic
value.In a sortofidealsituation
have
a
is
clear
of
what
there
and thedecisionstheymakeare
they
understanding
madeaccording
tofeedback,
and
A difficulty
reflection.
ariseswhen
information,
reasons
for
action
are
commitments
to
facts
or
items
thatare
people's
guidedby
"not
there."
apparently

MimeticDesire
to theclassicalview,whenself-interested
ofsomethings
is
According
pursuit
drivenby correctinformation
and feedback,just institutions
can providea
reliablevantagepointby whichthe partiescan reach a fairand unbiased
assessment
of thevalueof thestakes.However,
theidea thatneutralization
of
conflict
is bestachievedthrough
theequitabledistribution
ofgoodsobscuresthe
natureofviolencethatarisesintheabsenceofgoods.Objections
to theclassical
32. Rawls stresses the significanceof practices of giving and acknowledgingreasons in the
formation
of social consensus. Accordingto Rawls,people "givereasons fortheirbeliefsand conduct
beforeone another,confidentthatthisavowed reckoningitselfwill strengthen
and not weaken public
understanding"John Rawls, PoliticalLiberalism(New York: Columbia UniversityPress, 1993), 68;
emphasisadded.
33. BernardWilliams,Truth
and Truthfulness:
An Essay in Genealogy(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity
Press,2002), 220.

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544 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

approachseek to explainhowitis thatone actsin a certainwayeventhough

thereis no "factoftheworld"thatmayexplaintheaction.
Alternative
are oftendrawnfromdisciplines
thathaveadopted
explanations
the notionof "behavior"
to makesense of a numberof social phenomena.
markofgoodscienceisa commitment
"tochallengeits
Indeed,ifa characteristic
based
on
in otherscientific
conflict
resolution
as a
fields,"
assumptions
findings
fieldofstudyshouldbe cross-pollinated
withotherdisciplines.34
that
Approaches
eliminatethe momentof agencyfromthe explanationof humanbehavior,
I noted,relyinsteadon thebiologicaldrivesand built-in
of both
dispositions
humansand othergreatapes, and offercomparative
accountsof patterned
ofreconciliation
and conflict
Buttheseaccountsmissthe
strategies
prevention.
normative
thatis,themoment
ofthoughtful
deliberation
aboutthebest
moment,
or moreprofitable
courseofactionin theattendant
circumstance.
An approachfirmly
of
groundedin humanbiologybutwidelyappreciative
thenormative
ofhumancognition
could possiblybe derivedfrom
possibilities
thegeneraltheory
ofhumanbehaviorputforward
bytheFrenchanthropologist
RenGirard.
Girard's
onscapegoating
andpatterns
speculation
lifelong
dynamics
of mimetic
violencein mythand literature
has yieldedimportant
into
insights
thenatureof humanagencyand rationality.
His workhas contributed
to the
relativization
of two fundamental
and tightly
connectedassumptions
about
thatpeople,ifrational,
are in principle
bothreflective
and actively
rationality:
to reasons.35
responsive
Inthefollowing
I shalltryto bringto bearsomecriticalnotionsfrom
Girard's
on a radically
alternative
resolution.
Itis difficult
to
theory
approachto conflict
withtheanthropological
saywhether
myproposalremainsconsistent
premises
formulated
The onlytextin whichhe hintsat a possible"theory"
of
byGirard.
conflict
On Things
HiddensincetheFoundation
oftheWorld,
makesthe
resolution,
ofall conflict
is an "easy"pursuit
and
peculiarclaimthatthefinalovercoming
thepathwe shouldtakeis theone leadingto theeventualaccomplishment
of
the"Kingdom
ofGod."36
Thisarticleproposesto takea stepback,to gatherthe
and exploretentatively
howtheycouldbe tiedtoactual
premises
psychological

34. Long and Brecke, War and Reconciliation:Reason and Emotion in ConflictResolution
(Cambridge,MA: MIT Press,2003).
35. In otherwords,human beings,ifrational,have the abilityto act on reasons,but theyare also
in virtueoftheirabilityto have an insightintothereasonsthattheyadopt to
capable ofactingreflectively
structure
as a criticalattribute
of rationality,
see CharlesLarmore,Les pratiquesdu
agency.On reflexivity
moi (Paris: PUR 2004).
36. To Girardthe "failureof the Kingdom"is notso much the failureofJesusChrist'smissionin the
world,but rather"the inevitableabandonmentof the directand easy way,which would be forall to
accept theprinciplesof conduct thathe has stated."Ren Girard,ThingsHiddenSince theFoundationof
the World(Stanford,CA: StanfordUniversity
Press,1994), 203.

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RobertoFarneti 545

made byrealpeople and notpotential

demandsforpeace and reconciliation
in theforthcoming
candidatesforfinalcitizenship
Kingdom.
to Girardthenotionof desirehandeddownto us bya tradition
According
thatgoes back to Platofailsto reckonwiththe inherent
of human
symmetry
the
relational
and
alterocentric
relationships.
By stressing essentially
originof
humandiscord,Girardseeks to finda way aroundthe western(Platonicor"celibate
a desirecentered
modelof"unsupported"
desire,"
Aristotelian)
namely,
inprinciple,
can be detected"outthere."
on thesubjectandfocusedonthings
that,
thisPlatonicmodelofdesirebyrevealing
"thewaymost
He seeksto deconstruct
we
think
ittobe in
menare"(i.e.desire),37
whichis nottheegocentric
way usually
beliefthateveryconflict
thatariseswithin
a humancommunity
is
ourmistaken
In
desirous
of
Girard's
between
self-centered
words,
subjects,
appropriating
goods.
"themimetic
object."38
processdetachesdesirefrom
anypredetermined
ofwhatGirardcallsthe"tragic
tradition"
have
Someauthors,
representative
shiftedthe generative
nucleusof desirefromthe subjectto the relationship
betweensubjects.Theyreplacetheegocentric
conceptof desiredominantin
in
this
theWestwiththe"alterocentric"
theclassical
concept,
wayundermining
of
which
human
means
rational
model,
people's
responexplained
agencyby
sivenessto itemsor factsof theworldthattheytreatas reasons.Wherethe
classicalapproachenvisageda solitary
agentand a limitedset of goods,the
alternative
approachacknowledges
onlythe existenceof rivals.The scene in
whichrivalry
and violenceariseis in facta scene without
objects.Revelatory
writers
such as Shakespearehave shownthepurelyideologicalnatureof the
on thesubject.39
Thesewriters
unveiledtheexistence
ofa kindof
desirecentered
does notpursuean
unlikethedesirecodifiedinthePlatonictradition,
desirethat,
rival.The rivalimitates
external
good butseizesuponthedesireofthemimetic
thisdesireand, in turn,itsdesireis imitated
the
subject.This "suggested
by
ofa typeofconflict
desire"isthesecretcatalyst
thatdoes not
desire"or"emulous
in
of
occur
conditions
scarcity40
necessarily
the"object"oftheontological
thatmadeitthesimple
Girard
strips
privilege
andabsolutedesideratum
ofthewestern
and brings
tothe
tradition
philosophical
forefront
the figure
of the rival.His primary
is
"to
define
the
rival's
objective
the
which
he
in
relation
within
to
to
both
position
belongs,
subjectand
system
37. Ren Girard,A TheaterofEnvy:WilliamShakespeare(New York-Oxford:
OxfordUniversity
Press,
1991), 219.
38. Girard,Violenceand theSacred, 180.
39. "This weakness of individual desire- of single and unsupporteddesire, celibate desire-

reappearsconstantlyin Shakespeare."Girard,A TheaterofEnvy,133.

40. Here mimeticdesire needs to be distinguishedfromthe mere notion of envy: according to
Girard "all envy is mimetic,but not all mimeticdesire is envious. Envy suggests a single static
phenomenon,not the prodigiousmatrixof formsthatconflictualimitationbecomes in the hand of
Shakespeare."Girard,A TheaterofEnvy,18.

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546 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

object.Therivaldesiresthesameobjectas thesubject,andtoasserttheprimacy
doesn'tarisebecauseofthe
oftherivalcan lead onlyto one conclusion:
rivalry
a
thesubjectdesires
fortuitous
of
two
desires
on
singleobject;rather,
convergence
from
thissurplusof
theobjectbecausetherivaldesiresit"41
Thecrisisthatresults
actions
aimed
at
the
mimetic
reciprocalrivalry
adversary.
triggers
destroying
thatwhatis mostremarkable
aboutthewestern
Girardmaintains
philosophical
tradition
is itsfailure
to acknowledge
theworking
ofthismimetic
We
dynamic.
the
mimetic
outlook
of
human
discord
because
we
are
failtocapture
inextricably
wedded to the classicalbeliefthat"we cannothave a desireexceptfora
reason."42
to Girardtheclassicalmodelenjoysstrong
warrants
and protecAccording
thatitwillbe readily
"seems
tions,andso itis unlikely
displaced.Sucha reversal
unthinkable
once solidified,
situation,
shapesreality
onlybecause theexisting
in such a persuasive
of a natural
way thatit seemsto possessthe attributes
The anti-mimetic
humanism
thatreflects
howwe organizeour
phenomenon."43
in
liveshas pushedthemimeticrivalry
to themarginof our mentaluniverse,
"isthescandalof
whichitcan neither
be seen nordo anyharm.Mimetic
rivalry
humanrelations
thatmostof us elude because it offends
our optimistic
view
ofthoserelations."44
Theuniverse
describedbythe"tragic"
writers
(Shakespeare,
Stendhal,Dostoevsky
Kafka,etc.) makesus awareof a dimensionof human
Ifwe shift
thattheclassicalapproachhas consistently
overlooked.
relationships
ofunsolicited
and mimesis,
inwhich
theattention
tothesecretdimension
rivalry
themostdestructive
kindofviolencearises,we findoutthatitis nottruethat"all
ofgoods.45
Inthismimetic
dimension
of
wars"arefought
overtheappropriation
humanexperience,in whichthe rivalsseem to be rid of theirsupposedly
to an
Therivalsrefer
"authentic"
thereare in factno objects,onlyrivals.
desires,
to nothing
buttheirrivalry.
The
thatseemsinstrumental
ontological
inventory
to explaintheintensity
of theconflict:
in otherwords,cannotsuffice
"object,"
willcontinue"46
"onecan removetheobjectand therivalry
Rivalsare stillprompted
by desiresand drivenby reasons,but thereare
to act ina wayconsistent
no longerfactsouttheretosustaintheircommitment
withtheiravowedreasons.The objecthas droppedout ofsight,factsthatare
reasonsforactionhave become shadyand vagueand
claimedto constitute
of a
difficult
to detect,and we are facedwiththeglaring
absurdity
ultimately
41. Girard,Violenceand theSacred, 145.
ofReason,"inEngaging
and theJustification
On Rationality
42. JosephRaz, "ExplainingNormativity:
of Freedom
Reason, 73. Raz expanded on "thereason-dependentcharacterof desires,"in The Morality
(Oxford:Clarendon,1986), 140-43.
43. Girard,A TheaterofEnvy,101.
44. Girard.A TheaterofEnuv.18.
45. See footnote21 above.
46. Girard,ThingsHidden,90; emphasisadded.

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RobertoFarneti 547

inwhich"violence
situation
a reason"*1
thatdiscord
operateswithout
Byarguing
ispriorto people'scommitments
towhatthereis,Girard
turnsupsidedownone
of the keyassumptions
of the classicalmodel. By makinghumandiscord
on thecommitments
we maketo theworldoutthere,
Girard
reverses
contingent
of fit"of reasonsand actionsand assignsthe former
the "direction
a merely
derivative
status.
Thediscourseoftherivalsis fullofclaimsofdesirability
and entitlement
to
possessbywhichtheyseek to builda rationalefortheiractions,butGirard's
achievement
is to suggestthatthereis nothing
outthereto sustaintheirclaims.
in
the
is
fact
no
that
object
Removing
guarantee mutualdiscordwillbe resolved.
a particular
brandofliberalnaiveteleadsto thebeliefthatdiscordfeeds
Rather,
on reasonsthatcan be appeased and ultimately
offsetby means of a fair
distribution
of the stakes.48
One may contendthatthereare conflictsthat
such as thosewhose
challengetheclassicalapproachwithout
beingmimetic,
- a
on
Insuchinstances
resolution
does not,inprinciple,
redistribution.
depend
- solutionshingeupon ritualsof
case in pointbeingidentity-related
conflicts
Butsuch instancesare, in fact,explicablein the termsof the
reconciliation.
classicalapproach,fortheyoftenremainfocusedon land,on thepossessionor
politicalcontrolofareasthathaveproducedage-oldethniccleavages.Identity- and the partiestherebyrecondrivenconflicts
are indeed oftenredressed
ciled- bymeansofmaterial
redistributive
remedies
suchas
incentives,
including
theredrawing
ofboundaries.
such as thoseunderlying
Modelsof conflictresolution
democraticpeace
on
the
rest
that
mutual
hatred
can
be
checked
assumption
theory
byintervening
in theinformation
processes,bywhichpeople come to appreciatetheactual
valueofthestakes.Oncetheyhavea better
ofstrategic
understanding
advantages
and pay-offs,
theclassicalmodelargues,peoplewillbecomemoresensitive
to
thechancesofmutualappeasement
offered
either
"contact
or
viable
by
groups"
road maps forpeace-building.
Here the focusis on a dimensionof human
serious,butis
experiencethatis not"real"in thesense of beingontologically
affected
the
commitments
made
the
rivals
to
their
distorted
deeply
by
by
If
the
in
which
the
rivals
structure
their
ontologies.
ontologicallandscapes,
commitments
areunreal,iftheitemsgathered
intheseontological
setsaresimply
theroadtoreconciliation
mustgo through
an impartial
assessment
of
fabricated,
therivals'psychologies
and worldviews.
It mustlead therivalsawayfromthe
inwhichthethings
mimetic
atstakearenotably
scarcetoa space of
dimension,
47. Girard,Violenceand theSacred,46.
48. In the followingparagraphin the text,and further
down in the section Mimeticontologies,I
respond to an anonymousreader who objected thatother,non-distributive
strategies(e.g. strategies
focusedon reconciliation)are oftenused to overcomediscord,forexample,in identity-related
conflicts.

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548 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

and mimeticresolution,in which the rivalsreformulate

their
reflection,
claims
and
commitments.
ontological
The external
worldin which"things"
are seemingly
scarce is a projection
of mimeticcommitments
thatremaincognitively
unavailableto the rivals,
and it is by exposingsuch commitments
thatthe mimeticscene in whicha
biased ontologyoperatesshowsits perverted
rationale.Once we appreciate
themimetic
structure
ofdiscord,we see thatthereasonssuppliedbytherivals
are preciselyinstrumental
to whatis ultimately
priorto theircommitments:
theirrivalry.

MimeticOntologies
Whenwe thinkaboutourattitude
to discord,we maywonderwhether
itis
and howitmight
be containedor channelled.
Shoulditbe
alwaysundesirable
tamedviamarket
orcriminal
law?Thesequestions,
forces,
education,
regulation,
I believe,shouldbe addressednot by yieldinglargegeneralizations,
but by
preparingthe ground for more sensitiveand detailed researchof the
manifestations
and effects
of discord.49
The meritof Girard's
modelresidesin
its radicalquestioning
of the assumptions
lyingat the core of the classical
approach.Ifwe assumethathumandiscorddoes notariseoutofpeople'sselfinterested
concernsformaterialas well as immaterial
gains,we open up a
dimensionof humanagencyin whichthesourcesof discordare no longer
traceableto the motivesof the people involvedand discorditselfbecomes
tothejustice-centered
fostered
impervious
perspective
bytheclassicalapproach.
In contrast
to the classicalview in whichrivalry
betweenindividuals
and
a mutualrecognition
within
groupscouldbe easilyovercomethrough
unfolding
theframework
ofjustinstitutions,
inthescenarioopenedbyGirard,
intheplace
49. One anonymousreadersuggestedsituatingthe argumentabout the intractability
of conflictin
currentdebates involvingdiscussions of authors such as Carl Schmittand Jacques Rancire. A
confrontation
withSchmitt'soeuvre would, in my view,be particularlyuseful in the area of global
conflictdevelopments,in whichsuch phenomenaas coups d'tatsand terrorist
attacksare indicatorsof
the radical polemicityof politics,thatis, the irreducibility
of the friendand foe dyad. Howeveritwould
be difficult
to engage Schmittin the presentdiscussion as the veryidea of conflictresolutionseems
means is,for
foreignto his intellectualuniverse.Indeed solvingconflictby normative(e.g. redistributive)
one ofthechimericalobjectivesthatliberalismset forpolitics.Ifpoliticsis inherently
Schmitt,
polemical,
to "solve" conflict,and thereforerid the world of politicsitself,are the effectof a
any commitments
characteristic
inabilityto grasptheactual natureof the political.Schmittcalls "liberalism"preciselythis
failureto acknowledge the inherentlyconflictualand polemical nature of politics. A Girardian
perspectiveon conflictand conflictresolutionaccepts the factthatconflictand riskare inherentto
that is, normative,way out of the theoremof the irreducibility
of
politics,but it grantsa reflective,
conflict.If, for Schmitt,it is the "decision" that does all the reconciliatorywork, in a Girardian
that acknowledges, and thereforepreempts,the sources of human
perspectiveit is self-reflection
discord.

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RobertoFarneti 549

forthediscordwe findan emptyspace- a carefully

of thethingresponsible
dissembledabsence. The commitments
made by mimeticrivals,on closer
the friction
scrutiny,
suggestthatthereis nothingout there,and therefore
inan ontological
betweentherivalsgetsstarted
vacuum.Once we abandonthe
of theirfirst-person
approachthatconsiderspeople'sactionsas manifestations
to factsoftheworld,we see thatthecauses ofdiscordare not
responsiveness
ofinstitutions
to be soughtin thedefective
functioning
allegedly"disinterested
inthething!'
The illuminating
its
powerofa mimetic
approachbecomesevidentthrough
to certainrecentevents.After
inthe
dominated
9/11,twodiscourses
application
mediato explaintheterrorist
attacksand, possibly,
vindicatewhatturnedout
to be a short-noticed
Americanretaliation:
the classicalframework
and one
ofinsanity"
an explanation
oftheterrorist
thatI wouldcall the"discourse
attack
as based on mereirrational
beliefs.Soon a thirdviewemergedin themedia
of29 September
debates.In TheGuardian
2001,Arundhati
Roypointedoutthat
a logic and a
once a war begins,it is bound to "developa momentum,
ofitsown."Thesenseoflossanddespairunleashedbythewargrew
justification
thelogicoperating
inthispsychological
climate
despitethe"facts."
Roycaptured
andpointedtothelackoffactsthatweretofunction
as viablereasonsforactions.
Shearguedthatonce thelogicofwartookover,"we'lllosesightofwhyit'sbeing
in thefirst
place."50
fought
In theontological
vacuumin whichmimetic
is
operates,theconflict
rivalry
boundto developa momentum
and logicofitsown.Buteventhoughthereis
nothingout there,no valuable object thatthe rivalsstriveto appropriate
beforeperceiving
one another
as rivals,
towhatis there
theymakecommitments
to
whose
on
depends therepresentaby consistently
referringthings
actuality
tionalefficacyof theirclaims.The existenceof the thingis therefore
a
variablethatdependson commitments
made by therivals,on theirabilityto
and illustrate
thegood-making
qualitiesthatpromptthemto act in a
identify
certainway.51
David Weissmanhas made the ontologicalclaim that "everythingis
constituted
of itsproperties."52
Sucha claimpresupposes
thattheascription
of
in
the
reason-laden
as
discourse
the
is
the
minimal
rivals,
properties,
engagedby
conditionforthe thingto qualifyas an itemin a serious,not chimerical,
to thingsthat
Indeed,we can hardlyascribean ontologicaldignity
ontology.
lackanyproperty,
that
it
is
in
of
its
that
given
properties we can assert
only light
thatan object is. The case of mimeticdesireis one in whichpeople find
50. ArundhatiRoy,"The Algebraof Infinite
Justice,"The Guardian,29 September2001, 29.
51. On the notionof "good-makingquality"see footnote10.
52. David Weissman,Social Ontology(New Haven: Yale University
Press,2000), 25.

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550 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

in a vacuumof properties
and nonetheless
makecommitthemselves
thrown
is
to
blametheir
mentsto some supposedlyexistent
What
do
people
things.
which
further
be
of
resentment
and
subject to
indignation,
may
target
and
remonstration, (at thelimit)
"avoidance,reproach,
scolding,denunciation,
punishment."53
Throughavoiding,scolding,denouncing,etc., people work
to
out some evaluativestandardswherebytheyexpresstheircommitments
and reprimands
some things.It is by signallingmutualadmonishments
theproperties
of thethingat stake:it is on occasionof
thatpeople articulate
thatthethingcomesintobeingand gainsthestatus
thesespecialtransactions
one
of a stakein the dispute.It is, in otherwords,by mutually
addressing
another
thattheyeffect
theconstrual
ofthething
as a compoundofgood-making
properties.
Commitments
to ontologicalsets are normally
assessedon the basis of a
biasedevaluation
ofthenature
ofdesire,inasmuch
as desireisalwaysconsidered
and genuinely
and not as the markof unconscious
as authentic
egocentric,
the illusionof egocentric
mimeticdrives.Egocentric
desireor,better,
desire,
of an impulsewhose mimeticspringsare left
is a viable rationalization
Failureto acknowledge
thefundamentally
mimetic
dynamic
unacknowledged.
useless for
of desire is what makes the classical approach ultimately
Thisapproachappealsto reasonin orderto devisejust
purposes.
reconciliatory
all conflicts
social arrangements,
on theassumption
thatjusticeneutralizes
by
idea is that"humansapplyuniversal,
default:
theunderlying
general,reasoning
in makingchoicesin theircurrent
rulesto all problems
environment,
including
of
and actingon signalsin reachinga negotiatedsettlement
interpreting
conflicts."54
Bothindividuals
andgroupssendcrediblesignalstootherindividuals
and groups of an aversion to using force, and in this way they
mutualreckoning
fromwhichto build
expectto createa non-threatening
But the choices people makeare grounded
durablepeacefularrangements.
in the sense thatthey
on theirperceptions
of their"current
environment,"
stimuli.
and formulate
reasonson thebasisofperceived
theenvironment
survey
The storyof scarcityimpliedby the classicalapproachis groundedin the
assumptionthatpeople operatein a shared ontologicalmilieuin which
thekindof"interpreting
and actingon signals"
information
and feedback
govern
on whatthereis. This
a possibleagreement
whichthepartiesstipulate
through
of
crucial
hermeneutical
pieces of ontological
processentailsthe exchange
the
limitsoftheirmutual
in whichthepartiesprobe psychological
information
demandsforsatisfaction.
and Moral Sentiments(Cambridge: Harvard University
53. R. Jay Wallace, Responsibility
Press,
1998),54.
54. Long and Brecke, War and Reconciliation:Reason and Emotion in ConflictResolution
(Cambridge,MA: MIT Press,2003), 3.

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RobertoFarneti 551

avowedreckoning"
We knowthatthe "mutually
by whichpeople commit
consists
ofstipulations
toa supposedly
viableontology
themselves
bywhichthey
of
createor sustaina universeof negotiableobjectsfitforroutinestrategies
thattherivals'chancesto reacha
A mimetic
redistribution.
perspective
suggests
on theirability
to deflatethe
overtheavailablegoodsare contingent
settlement
The
of a new
that
sustained
their
mutual
up
animosity.
opening
ontologies
of
discord
social
actors
into
more
on
the
press
perspective
origin
may
designing
on a moreinclusive
visionof reality,
in which
ofconvergence
viablestrategies
and theextantresources
compatible
theycan see thattheirgoalsare ultimately
amenableto fairallocation.
forcesus to look intothemindsof therivals;it
Thisalternative
perspective
But the
the
actual
us
springsof theirmutualanimosity.
helps
identify
in
this
the
field
of
conflict
resolution
innovation
effected
perspective
major
by
fromthe demandsof satisfaction
of the rivals
is thatit shiftsthe attention
Girardhelps us see that
to the waystheyrationalizetheirmutualhostility.
thosedemandsare mimeticin nature,so thatthereis no given"measureof
satisfaction"
to be filledto appease the rivals.The scene in which the
of theirbiased
and
"interpreting actingon signals"takesplace is the mirror
and
not
a
reliable
source
of
information
on their
and
perceptions stipulations
can
if
has
From
this
we
see
that
the
needs.
perspective
rivalry
"egocentric"
effort
to
the
rivals
is
mimetic
springs,
any
satisfy
hardlylikelyto
genuinely
shouldbe focusedinsteadon tensions
succeed.Forthisreasonour attention
inwhichtherivalsformulate
the"publiccognitive
their
within
scene,"55
occurring
for
satisfaction.
This
scene
is
often
demands
biased)
plaguedby
(mimetically
memories
ofpersecution
thatloom
phobicimagesoftheotherand byrecurring
when
the
rivals
in the successive"rationalization
scene,"
quarrelover the
on
conflict
resolution
distribution
oftheavailablegoods.A Girardian
perspective
concernitselfwithmakingtherivalsreflectively
aware of their
musttherefore
mimetic
plight.

Mimesis,Identity,Conflict
Themostdirectontological
ofGirard's
is thatitemsvalued
implication
theory
and pursuedbymorethanone personare likelyto becomestakesina mimetic
inthethingbecome,by(mimetic)default,
gameinwhichthepersonsinterested
is ontologicalinasmuchas theconstrual
of thethingis
rivals.The implication
on commitments
thatare priorto thepsychological
act ofsurveying
contingent
whatis there.
55. AryehNeier,"WhatShould Be Done about theGuilty?"TheNew YorkReviewofBooks 37 (1990):
32-34.

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552 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

are shaped by experiencesof rivalry

The rivals'psychologies
or, more
recollections
of
such
Social
themselves
important,
experiences.
groupsidentify
in thesense thattheyforma number
by meansof practicesof recollection,
of basic notionsabout what theyare, theirplace in the world,and the
barrierbetweenthemand the others.All these notionsguide
demarcating
theirpsychological
reactionsto externalstimuli.Discordentailsthe manuof new patternsof reality,the drawingof new ontological
facturing
thatframepeople'scommitments.
inventories
Emphasison cultureand group
psychology
may help uncoverthe subliminaltrendswherebythe group's
perceptionof what "thereis" deviatesfrompossiblyshared ontological
standards.56
In hisattempt
to drawa genealogy
ofhatred,
JanAssmannhas shownhow
memoriesof discrimination
and persecution
mightwormtheirway intothe
level.Assmann
maintains
habitsand rituals
ofa groupandworkat a subliminal
thattheconstrual
oftheenemyis oftentheresultofa "pathology
ofmemory"
Thetwentieth
borewitness
to theworstexcessesofcollective
century
psychosis
andtherefore
we need"totracethishistory
backtoitsorigin,
with
[ofpsychosis]
to a better
thehope thatthisanamnesisand 'working-through'
maycontribute
ofthedynamics
behindthedevelopment
of
and an overcoming
understanding
Assmann's
causes
cultural
or religious
abomination."57
analysisofthesubliminal
of hatredis supportedbothby a powerful
geneticaccountof anti-Semitism
is compoundedin thisintimacy
withmyths
and
and bytheinsight
thatconflict
memories.
In a similarvein,JacquesSmelinhas describedthepsychological
forethnicmassacres(suchas Germans,
attitude
ofpeopleresponsible
Serbs,and
itsprimitivist
and archaicoutlook,and itsbeingrootedin a
Hutus),stressing
and self-glorification
thatignitesadversarial
social imaginary
of omnipotence
"Murderous
attitudes
animosities,
imageoftheenemy.58
againsta dulyfabricated
fuelledby memoriesof injusticeand vengeance"can takeovera groupof

56. "Social identitytheory" has offered importantinsightsinto both the biased cognitive
appreciationof the differencesbetween groups (which each group tends to exaggerate) and the
differenceswithingroups (which group members are inclined to minimize). Phenomena such as
are operationsof "categorization"thatplay a
and outgroupdiscrimination
ingroupbias, stereotyping,
"The
of individualand social identity.
See HenryTajfeland JohnC. Turner,
criticalrole in the formation
Behavior"in Psychology
Social Identity
Relations,d. S. Worcheland
oflntergroup
Theoryof Inter-group
L. W.Austin(Chicaco: Nelson-Hall,1986).
57. Jan Assmann,Moses the Egyptian:The Memoryof Egyptin WesternMonotheism(Cambridge:
HarvardUniversity
Press,1997), 44.
of thisphobic imaginaryto Melanie Klein'sanalysisof
58. Smelin tracesthe clearestformulation
fantasiesof hate and greed in the child, arguing that the manipulationof this
ultra-aggressive
withsocial and ethnicdivisionsis likelyto lead to a
"elementarypsychicnucleus"in a contextfraught
et dtruire.
Usages politiquesdes massacreset
phobic construalof the enemy.Jacques Smeline,Purifier
genocides (Paris: ditionsdu Seuil, 2005).

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Roberto Farneti 553

people or a whole nation.59Such animosities are especially difficultto

eradicate when group identityis grounded on ingrainedadversarialattitudes:
"collectivememoriesare imprintedby eventsrelatedto the conflict;. . . beliefs
intothe ethos;
relatedto theconflictbecome societalbeliefsand are incorporated
is socializedintheconflict
and at leastone generation
climate,notknowinganother
ofother
Whenitescalates,humandiscordopens up a space forthereturn
reality*60
in thisspace thatdiscord
otheruntimely
pasts,and itis by intervening
knowledges,
Interventions
should be directedto thescene in
neutralized.61
mightbe effectively
Andconflictive
harm"without
a reason"are likelyto arise.62
whichimpulsesto inflict
mimesisis more likelyto arise in conditionsin which identitycleavages favor
betweengroups.
mimeticpolarizations
If we push this argumentto the extreme,we see that a coherent mimetic
would lead us to claim thatthe
perspectiveon the sources of human hostility
formation
of mimeticoppositesprecedes the emergenceof identity
cleavages,in
and so formelementary
the sense thatpeople "have a feeling"of theirdiversity
notionsabout theiridentityafterhavingexperienced hostilitytowardsa group
In otherwords,conflictive
thatoftensharesthesame languageand morphology.63
mimesis between individualsand groups is not the upshot of prior identity

59. TonyJudt,Postwar:A HistoryofEuropesince 1945 (London: PenguinBooks, 2005), 666.

60. Bar-Tal,"FromIntractableConflictthroughConflictResolutionto Reconciliation,"355.
61. An anonymousreader alerted me about the workof JayneDochertyon worldviewconflicts.
different
worldviewsmustdeal firstwith realityand
Dochertyinsiststhatgroupswith fundamentally
thatshe calls "worldnaming"
and thatseems to resemblemyown
engage in a kindof normativeactivity
claim for "shared" ontological commitments.But according to Docherty,worldviewsare perfectly
structuredalready beforegroups come to clash. Rival groups, in fact,are divided by fundamental
the world. In thisarticleI contend thatmimeticimpulsesare
differencesin "naming"and "framing"
prior to the rivalrybetween the groups and that world naming is instrumentalto
fundamentally
See JayneDocherty,
ex-postmimetichostility.
rationalizing
LearningLessons fromWaco: WhentheParties
Press,2001).
BringTheirGods to theNegotiationTable (Syracuse,NY: SyracuseUniversity
or denying an ostensiblyJungianapproach to the
62. I am not at all clear about affirming
as when he wrotethat"thetide thatrose
insights,
psychologyof hatred.Jung,though,offeredimportant
in theunconsciousafterthe first
WorldWarwas reflectedin individualdreams,in the formofcollective,
violence,cruelty:in short,all the powersof darkness.
mythological
symbolswhichexpressedprimitivity
Whensuch symbolsoccur in a largenumberof individualsand are notunderstood,theybegin to draw
these individualstogetheras ifby magneticforce,and thusa mob is formed."Carl GustavJung,"The
Fightwith the Shadow,"in Collected Works,ed. and trans.G. Adler and R. F C. Hull, 10 (London:
Routledge& Kegan Paul, 1970), 218-26, at 220.
63. Ole Waeveralso challenges the view thatconflictsin which identityis used by the partiesto
rationalizehostility
are actuallycaused by identityissues. "How problematicthisapproach is becomes
visiblein the case of the conflictsin the formerYugoslavia.The underlying
immediately
assumptionof
much identity/culture
based thinkingabout conflictis thatthe propensityforconflictcorrelateswith
differencesand cultural distance. However,Croats, Serbs and Bosnians are quite close for most
purposes,includinglanguage. And thiscloseness is actuallypartof the reason forthe conflict."Lene
Hansen and Ole Waever,
And NationalIdentity:
The ChallengeOf The NordicStates
EuropeanIntegration
(London: Routledge,2002), 43.

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554 A MIMETICPERSPECTIVEON CONFLICTRESOLUTION

aware as a consequenceof
cleavages,but ratherthe rivalsbecome identity
that
to
conflict.
mimetic
cause
them
impulses
If we accept thatconflictual
mimesisis priorto people'sengagement
in
adversarial
we
have
made
a
towards
the
identification
behavior,
step
significant
of the specificarea in whichour attempts
at conflictresolution
shouldbe
directed.64
The cognitive
scene in whichpeople formulate
theirsatisfaction
fromwithin,
an insight
claimsneedsto be exposedto a reflective
that
insight
showsthattherationalization
initiated
the
suffer
from
a
procedures
parties
by
bias
that
is
to
lie
Narratives
of
which
cognitive
likely
unacknowledged.
scarcity
- servetypically
ofegocentric
desire
to
gettheirrationalefromtheassumption
concealthegenuinely
mimetic
structure
oftheattendant
hostility.
A reappraisal
oftheclassicalapproachthatlaysbareitsfunctional
limitations
wouldrevealthatdiscordcannotbe easilyremovedby recourseto a rational
and negotiators
to findsomeplatform
neutralizer
and thattheuse ofarbiters
for
theoretical
non-partisan
cooperationis a logicalconsequenceof a persistent
delusion.The classicalapproachloomsnotonlybehindthespeechesof the
of statesand international
mouthpieces
agenciesbut also in thewidespread
ofthefireman
to putouta fire.65
Thisis notto say thatthis
metaphor
running
or thatmimetic
can be detected
approachcan be simplydismissed,
dynamics
humanbeingsshowconflictive
Andtheoverallpicture
whenever
dispositions.
clueas tohowa certainperspective
thatI haveoutlined
offers
onlyan embryonic
moreextensive
a valuable
on humandiscordcan become,through
research,
In place of or in
of moreeffective
of peace-making.
underpinning
strategies
forpursuing
additionto the classicalquestion,"Arethereoutsideincentives
we shouldask,"Aretherepsychological
factsby
theseactsleadingto conflict?"
as
whichpeopleor groupsfeelrepelledfromotherpeopleor groupsidentified
oftheclassicalapproach,
one can glean
on thelimitations
enemies?"66
Byfocusing
ofhowconflicts
be handled.
a different
amonghumansmight
understanding
of the polarizationin
64. BennyMorrishas used the metaphorof the "twins"to stressthesymmetry
wave thatled, in the mid-1990s,to the
the Zionist-Arabconflict.Discussingthe natureof the terrorist
assassinationof YitzhakRabin,Morrisstatesthat"theMuslimenemies of peace nurturedand activated
A Historyof the Zionist-Arab
theirIsraeli twins."Benny Morris,RighteousVictims:
Conflict,1881-2001
(New York:Vintage,2001), 635. Elementsof mimeticviolence can be gleaned in whatcould be seen as
thesame dynamicof
thearchconflictofour time,thewar betweenIsraelisand Palestinians.Interestingly
polarizationcan be observed withineach of the two fields,in which structuresof internalmimetic
polarizationplague the political discourse of both Palestiniansand Israelis.As to the theme of the
"twins,"Girardhas pointed out that "as the crisis grows more acute, the communitymembersare
into 'twins,'matchingimages of violence. I would be temptedto say thattheyare each
transformed
doubles of the other."Girard,Violenceand theSacred, 79.
65. Pleas fora "thirdparty"hinge on the assumptionthat a very different
type of world-order
depends on the possibility"to readilyand reliablypolice those who would wage war."Boehm, "Global
ConflictResolution,"204.
Conflict
66. Wallensteen,Understanding
Resolution,44.

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RobertoFarneti 555

The shifttowardsa mimeticperspective

entailsa further
shiftfromjusticecenteredstrategies
ofpeace-making
to reflective
in making
practicesconsisting
habitsthatfeed on culture,the group's
explicitdeep-rooted
psychological
of its history,
etc. The "alterocentric"
representations
self-image,
approachto
conflict
resolution
the causes of discordand thereby
relocates
psychologizes
themfromtheexternalspace of the factsof theworldto the internal
space
inhabitedby inimicalimagesof the other.The processof acknowledging
the mimeticstructure
of one's ontologicalcommitments
depends on the
to
about
oneself.
ability develop special perceptions
Throughbecoming
reflective
aboutour impulsesand animosities
we recognize,
in thefirst
place,
thatmimeticrivalry
is inextinguishable.
Fromthisperspective
we begin to
thatlies beneaththe discourseof so-called
see thatthetalkof "satisfaction"
contactgroupsis actuallyinstrumental
to the aim of discord,whichis to
rootsand perpetuate
conceal itsmimetic
itself.67
Thistalkis biasedbya blind
of
the
classical
so
that
a
new perspective
on conflict
acceptance
approach,
resolution
should addressthe "egocentric"
construalof the verynotionof
satisfaction.
A mimetic
wouldlead us in thedirection
of a fullrecognition
perspective
of the factthatsatisfaction
has primarily
normative
inasmuch
implications,
as therivals
willbe satisfied
after
the
treatment
and
only
receiving
compensation
thattheydeem fair.But failuresto acknowledgethe mimeticsources of
desire are likelyto lead to solutionsthat will come consistently
short
of the "measureof satisfaction"
indicated,time and again, by the rivals
themselves.
Iftheconflict
hidesa genuinely
mimetic
theveryact ofeither
strain,
shares
of
land
or
boundaries
is
distributing
redrawing
hardlylikelyto "satisfy"
therivals.
Wherea "mimetic
strain"
is atwork,recourseto "socialidentity"
is oflittle
use
toexplaintheattendant
conflict.
Radicalization
ofidentity
the
is,again, upshotof
themimetic
not
what
sets
it
off.
In
conflicts
in
which
is explained
crisis,
animosity
interms
ofterritorialization
ofidentities,
a mimetic
is
atwork.
dynamic arguably
Itpushestherivalsagainsteach otherand forcespeoplewhosocializedin an
environment
withweakidentity
tiesand possessing
unclearidentity
marks(e.g.
children
ofinter-ethnic
in
Bosnian
and, Bosnia,non-ethnically
marriages
Muslims)
to takeon a clearlyperceptible
and thereby
identity
engagein the ongoing
67. A striking,
and paradoxical,unintendedconsequence of the Oslo contacttalksof the mid-1990s
was one of the mostdestructive
waves of terrorist
violence in Israel.More nuanced are the attemptsat
and politicalanalysisof why thatwas the case. See, foran overview,Davis Makovsky,
interpretation
Road to the Oslo Accord(Boulder,CO: Westview
MakingPeace withthePLO: The Rabin Government's
Press,1996). KrigersuggeststhatNGOs and contactgroupsin Zimbabwe claimed politicalsuccess for
theirmediationby cheatingon language:theydescribedas "peace" a conditionofactual "war"(even if
not open warfare,but stillwar). Norma Kriger,GuerrillaVeteransin Post-War
Zimbabwe:Symbolicand
ViolentPolitics,1980-1987 (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press,2006).

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556 A MIMETIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Claimsofexclusive
ofa givenportion
oflandoftentake
polarization.
possession
in
in
environments
which
issues
become
sensitive
place
identity
politically
only
after
individual
and grouprivalries
set in. Nevertheless,
is
used
identity
byboth
rivalsand third
to rationalize
theensuingconflict,
to
parties
thereby
contributing
the
mimetic
that
the
scene.
Thus
was
blamed
concealing
activity polarizes
identity
- fought
as thecause of themyriad
civilwars
at themicro-level
in townsand
with
an
mixed
that
the
population
punctuated blurred
villages
ethnically
map
ofwhatwas left,in theearly1990s,oftheex-Yugoslavia.68

ReflectiveJustice
Mimetic
containsthesimplesuggestion
thatpeopleenterintoconflict
theory
not so muchbecause theyare bad negotiators
but because theyare poor
to
be
involves
information
Reflection,
sure,
functions,
introspectors.
"cognitive
and
and
enables
to
convene
on
a scene of
processing image-building,"69
people
"mutualreckoning,"
in whichthemimetic
of
discord
are
exposed.
springs
fully
The reckoning
is successfulif the mimeticdoubleseventually
yieldto selfinontological
reflective
whosenormative
stipulations
agentscapableofengaging
effects
will be beneficialto the ensuingpeacefularrangements.
Reckoning,
warrantthe genuinelynormativenatureof the
exposure,and reflection
theformer
rivalsseek to refashion
theirmutualrelationarrangements
whereby
The
normative
of
the
force
such relationships
ships.
stipulations
regulating
on
the
of
the
reflective
commitments
depends
quality
theymade,on theirability
to pin downthe possiblemimeticdepartures
fromgenuinely
nonreflective,
mimetic
behavior.
Thesolution
toanydilemmainhumanconflict
resolution
is,in
nevernatural.
Itentailsa reflective
otherwords,alwaysnormative,
investment
of
theagentsintesting
theviability
ofthereasonstheyuse to escape theirconflictriddenpredicament.
The rivalscan ultimately
make peace because they
to
and reflectively
can makethemselves
subject stipulations
theyhave freely
agreedupon.
the arrangements
The kind of justice underlying
resultingfromthese
and
is
not
the
same
justicepraised
supportedby the classical
stipulations
"reflective
focused
on
theactiverecognition
ofthe
it
is
justice,"
approach.Rather,
68. In Bosnia, in the early 1990s,towns and villages with a very high concentration(up to 40
percent) of ethnicallyand confessionallymixed marriagesbore witnessto a shockingescalation of
violence betweenethnic-basedfactions,and people caughtin the mimeticthrallof the mountingcivil
war were understandablylosing theirbearings.And the many who had marriedacross ethnic lines
that
realizedthattheworldthathad once been indifferent
to theirmarriagehad "changedso profoundly
whathad been accepted and even treasuredonlya fewyearsago has suddenlybeen renderedvestigial
Uves and MemoriesofEthnicCleansingin
and taboo."Stevan M. Weine,WhenHistoryis a Nightmare:
Press,1999), 19.
(New Brunswick,NJ:RutgersUniversity
Bosnia-Herzegovina
69. Jeong,"Researchon ConflictResolution,"19.

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RobertoFarneti 557

Reflective
showsthat
ofhumanbehaviorand conflict.
mimetic
justice70
springs
claimsmaybe the covertexpressionof mimeticbiases thatpeople
identity
of marginality
and persecution.71
It
narratives
rationalize
by recourseto fitting
to conceal historical
exposes the self-serving
agenda of groupscommitted
factsor sanctionselectiveappraisalsof the past. Reflectiue
justicetypically
and thereby
seeksto providetheso-called"virtues
combinesjusticeand truth,
of truthfulness"
with an appropriateinstitutional
framework,
althoughits
in
which
is
not
limited
to
the
external
world
the
of the rivals
exploits
scope
takeplace.72
It has been arguedthat"reconciliation
requiresa psychological
change."73
Political
have
remained
though,
vagueas totheactualinnovations
psychologists,
in the fieldof conflictresolution.
possiblyeffected
by psychological
insights
on
has
on a typicalpsychological
work
self-reflection
focused
Philosophical
the
in
which
"one's
actual
desires"
case
areleftunaltered
phenomenon,
by"one's
reflection
on what'sdesirable."
Itis a situation
in whichtwosetsof
deliberative
"arecognitively
attitudes
isolatedfrom
each other,"
andwe are no
psychological
of
a
clear
role
with
to
our
attitudes
and
respect
longercapable playing
agent
This
which
has
been
described
as
"a
form
of
condition,
impulses.
peculiar
is
effective
in
those
cases
when
mimetic
impairment,"
particularly
dynamics
gain
a momentum
oftheirownand shunagentcontrol.74
The challengeforus,and
is to bringourown
resolution,
especiallyforpsychologists
engagedin conflict
and
desires
within
the
locus
of
and
control
in
whichtheywillbe
impulses
agency
to
the
reflective
and
normative
of
reason.
subject
scrutiny
authority
RenGirard
has focusedon a typicalformofpsychological
the
impairment:
identification
of"scapegoats,"
individuals
orgroupsthatattract
themselves
upon
all the mimeticviolence.The targeting
of scapegoatsis a viableand violent
shortcutto conflictresolutionthat ofteneventuatesin the restoration
of
70. The notionof "reflective
tracesthisnotionto the rather
justice"is new.Barbara Hudson briefly
tentative
and speculativeunderstanding
ofjusticeputforthby the FrenchtheoristJean-Franois
Lyotard.
Hudson pointsout that"discursivejustice,relationaljustice,reflective
justiceand rights-regarding
justice
are verymuchwork-in-progress
stillshortof the "levelof sophisticationand influence"of
perspectives"
liberal social contracttheories.These perspectives,though,are described as viable alternativesor
possible complements to a (liberal) discourse that according to Hudson covers our whole
understandingof justice. However,the "risksociety" in which we live is challengingthe alleged
of the liberalmodel and stimulatesthe riseof other"work-in-progress
comprehensiveness
perspectives."
See Barbara Hudson,Justicein the RiskSociety:Challengingand Reaffirming
Justicein Late Modernity
(London: Sage, 2003), xv and 199. The presentarticle aims neitherto put an end to this "work-innor to put forwarda full-fledged
progress,"
conception of reflective
justice.
71. Mary Douglas has focused on "hidden groups" invoking "a historyof persecution and
resistance."MaryDouglas, How Institutions
Think(Syracuse,NY: SyracuseUniversity
Press,1986), 80.
72. I am referring
to Williams,Truth
and Truthfulness.
73. Bar-Tal,"FromIntractableConflict,"
356.
74. RichardMoran,Authority
and Estrangement:
An Essay on Self-Knowledge
(Princeton:Princeton
Press,2001), 60.
University

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558 A MIMETICPERSPECTIVEON CONFLICTRESOLUTION

Inthesecases memories
ofviolentretribution
peacefularrangements.
seemingly
do thepsychological
and successfulretaliation
workthatshouldbe done by
reflective
confrontation
withour actual impulsesand desires.Scapegoating
in
other
reflection
andwilfully
succeeds,
words,whenpeopleabstainfrom
yield
to the mimeticforcesthathold themin theirthrall.Girardhas arguedthat
as thereis lessand
ofscapegoating
become"moreand moreeffective
dynamics
less awarenessof itas a collectivedelusion."75
Andawareness
less knowledge,
thepsychological
meansthatone shouldtryto
and knowledgeare precisely
themto appropriate
institutional
devices.A perspective
makeeffective
bytying
resolution
thatacknowledges
themerits
ofmimetic
couldhelp
on conflict
theory
in
reflective
forms
of
which
indesigning
justice,
people
arrangements
supporting
and exposingmimetic
are givenpsychologicalincentivesfor recognizing
attitudes
and polarizations.
concealsitsmimetic
Humandiscordscrupulously
roots,and theonlychance
is
the
nature
ofhumanrationality,
we havetobreakloosefrom
itsgrip byfulfilling
idea
that
we
have
aboutourthoughts,
itsopen-endedness,
the
"thoughts
namely,
on
aboutourthoughts."76
andthoughts
aboutourthoughts
Bythinking
reflectively
we will manage to get a clearer insightinto the
our own thoughts,
realities
thatmakeup theworldoutthere,and may
divisive
ontological
highly
about our actual
reacha moreaccomplishedsense of possibility
eventually
chancesto livein peace.

Ren Girard,and
75. Ren Girard,"GenerativeScapegoating,"in ViolentOrigins:WalterBurkert,
JonathanZ. Smithon RitualKillingand CulturalFormation,ed. R. G. Hamerton-Kelly
(Stanford,CA:
StanfordUniversity
Press,1987), 73-105,at 84.
76. StevenPinker,The Blank Slate: The ModernDenial ofHumanNature(New York:Viking,2002),
336.

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