As the 21st century began, Algeria, Morocco, and North Sudan launched some much-publicised “reconciliation” policies, or, in the case of North Sudan, “pacification” policies. Algeria, following its Clemency policy (1995) and Civil Concord Law (1999), held a referendum in 2005 and subsequently implemented the measures of its Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation. This charter is Algeria’s latest policy aimed at settling the accounts of a murderous decade (1990s) between the state an...

Over the years John and Jean Comaroff have broadened the study of culture and society with their reflections on power and meaning. In their work on Africa and colonialism they have explored some of the fundamental questions of social science, delving into the nature of history and human agency, culture and consciousness, ritual and representation. How are human differences constructed and institutionalized, transformed and (sometimes) effaced, empowered and (sometimes) resisted? How do loc...