An ethic for enemies : forgiveness in politics / Donald W. Shriver, Jr.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-276) and indexes.

A Complex and Multi-Dimensional Concept: Some Definitions -- 1. Revenge, the End of Politics; and Justice, the Beginning. Aeschylus: The Taming of Revenge by Institutions of Justice. Thucydides: The Triumph Fury in War. Cain, Joseph and Their Kin: A Saga of Restorative Justice. "Who Can Forgive Sins but God Alone?" Interlude: Reflections on Revenge, Justice, and Forgiveness -- 2. Forgiveness in Politics in Christian Tradition. Jesus - The Discoverer" of Social Forgiveness? The Political Context of Jesus' Ministry. Forgiveness as Community Building in the New Testament. Did Christians Believe that Forgiveness Belonged in the Public Sphere? Appearances and Disappearances of Forgiveness in the "Christian" Political Order. The Crisis for All Formulations of Forgiveness: The Enlightenment Perspective -- 3. Political Ethics as Moral Memory. The Politics of Death and Life. Remembering History Morally. Can Nations Remember, Repent, and Forgive?

4. Vengeance and Forbearance: Germans and Americans. Germans and Americans: 1914-45. Democracy at War: A Note on "Just War" Ethics, 1941-45. Vengeance versus Truth, Reparation versus Restoration, 1945-60. The United States and Germany: Forty Years after World War II. Postscript: 1995 and Beyond -- 5. Enmity and Empathy: Japan and the United States. Remembering the Pacific War. Remembering Japanese Americans -- 6. Justice and Forgiveness: The Long Road to Equal Citizenship for African Americans. The Oldest American Civic Injustice. An Early Civil Rights Movement: 1865. Wholly Belonging: The Civil Rights Movement, 1955-68. Black Power and Political Forgiveness? "That Old and Still Unpaid Debt," -- 7. Whither Forgiveness in American Politics? The Place of Apology. Restitution and Domestic Tranquillity. Forgiveness Too Soon, Too Late. Pluralism: Our Coming National Trial by Diversity.