Between reconciliation and peace making and brutalization: The Israeli case

Abstract This article examines the relationship between peacemaking, reconciliation, and brutalization in violent conflicts. It argues that these processes are deeply interconnected: effective peacemaking and reconciliation can interrupt or reverse brutalization, whereas unsuccessful or incomplete peacemaking may allow brutalization to persist, deepen, and become normalized, even alongside formal reconciliation initiatives. This article is organized into two parts. The first one reviews the scholarly literature on peacemaking, reconciliation, and brutalization. It examines each process separately. Then proposes an analytical model that explains the emergence, escalation, and persistence of brutalization. Finally, it conceptualizes its relationship with peacemaking and reconciliation. The second part applies this model to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, focusing on Israeli Jewish society in its confrontation with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This case study serves to illustrate the model and assess its explanatory value. Beyond examining peacemaking and reconciliation, the article's primary objective is to develop a comprehensive conceptualization of brutalization by defining its nature, identifying its underlying psychological and social mechanisms, and analyzing its antecedents and consequences for collective cognition, emotions, behavior, and norms.