Contrary Memories: Bases, Chances and Constraints of Dealing with the Past in Georgian-Abkhaz Dialogue

In my paper I will focus on the transitional justice mechanisms of truth-finding and reconciliation. In recent years, there have been some fruitful attempts in transforming the perception of past violence and enabling processes of reconciliation between Georgian and Abkhaz stakeholders of war memorialization. The Berghof Foundation has engaged in a wide scale process of tackling these issues, taking into account differing, even contradicting perceptions of past events on both sides of the conflict divide. I will explore the predominant “conflict supporting narratives” (Bar-Tal, 2014) in perceptions of the conflict parties and the common (violent) past. Subsequently I will share some lessons learned and basic working principles in addressing these contradictory perceptions and opening space for innovative approaches to the deadlock of competing narratives in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict setting.