Spremnost na oprost i pomirenje nakon domovinskoga rata u Hrvatskoj
Willingness to Forgive and Be Reconciled after the Croatian War of Independence in Croatia

Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with the empirical research of the process of forgiveness and reconciliation in Croatia after the War of Independence. Research conducted within the field of psychology indicates that the victim benefits from forgiving the perpetrator in many ways which is reflected in better mental health and lack of negative mood, while forgiveness and reconciliation also have their broader social dimension. In the paper three basic questions are being addressed: how are considerations (attitudes) on forgiveness and reconciliation structured; what part of the Croatian population is prepared to forgive and be reconciled and what are the correlates of willingness to forgive. The research was conducted towards the end of the year 2000. The results indicate that attitudes on forgiveness and reconciliation can be grouped into three broader viewpoints: scepticism in forgiveness and reconciliation, faith in positive processes and support to conditional forgiveness. Most citizens, more than four fifths, are inclined towards forgiveness under the condition of damage compensation and/or apology. Persons prepared to forgive unconditionally are in the minority, while a not-to-be- neglected number is even prone to revenge. Based on the information gathered, a hypothesis is presented treating unconditional forgiveness and revenge as insufficiently adjusted behaviour influenced by frequent and superficial social contacts in the urban environment, which results in an automatic reaction ultimately dependent upon the type of trauma the person (is) was exposed to.

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