Enabling positive intergroup relations through the utility of moral exemplars among young adults in post-conflict settings

Abstract

The article explores the role of moral exemplars as an approach to dealing with and learning from the past as part of peacebuilding education initiatives (PEIs) operating in Southeast Europe. To this day, a deeply rooted divide along ethnic lines is present throughout the region, with each ethnic group using separate narratives and educational programs, providing the youth with little space to meet and learn about the past and outgroup members. Civil society increasingly introduces PEIs that target adolescents through experiential learning approaches. Based on 12-month-long multi-sited ethnographic research into four peacebuilding approaches, this article addresses three outcomes connected with the use of the moral exemplars approach in peacebuilding intervention programs. These include (1) a greater desire to learn about the past, outgroup members, and each other in post-conflict and divided settings, (2) a greater chance to form cross-group friendships as well as (3) a drive to take concrete steps toward peacebuilding in the participants' local communities.