AFTER VIOLENCE: 3R, RECONSTRUCTION, RECONCILIATION ...

Restructuration: the peace structure approach. The word
"democratization" expresses much of what is hiding under the more
general term "restructuration", for peace. But, however laudable
a political system with an executive accountable to the
legislature and the legislature accountable to a population that
can express its will freely, in elections by secret ballot, there
are more aspects to be considered.
When violence breaks out there are usually two structural
causes: too much dominance, politically as oppression and/or
economically as exploitation; or too much distance, between
classes or other groups, including countries. Combine the two and
we get the phenomenon known as (social) exclusion or
marginalization. In extreme cases we get what can be called
atomie, a pathological society of egocentric, cost-benefit
oriented individuals, and little or no social tissue left.
Beyond the institution of democracy restructuration would aim
at eliminating social exclusion by raising the educational and
health levels of the marginalized. To speed up the process
students could donate a year, live with an illiterate family and
alphabetize them; medical students could train people in
elementary preventive and curative medicine. But there is no
alternative to better distribution of productive resources (land,
credit, technology, management). Democracy cannot work across the
inequality gaps still found today.
This will decrease vertical social distance. To decrease the
horizontal distance strengthening the local community is
indispensable, together with building ties to others through NGOs,
faxes, e-mail etc. But preferably direct human ties, building a
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