Compassion for enemy militants?: A case study

• Published date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Daniel Rothbart
• Date: 01 June 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21299

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Compassion for enemy militants?: A case study

Daniel Rothbart

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School

for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George

Mason University, Arlington, Virginia

Correspondence

Daniel Rothbart, The Jimmy and

Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and

Conflict Resolution, George Mason

University, Vernon Smith Hall, Room

5102, MSN: 4D3, 3351 Fairfax Drive,

Arlington, VA 22201-4426.

Email: drothbar@gmu.edu

Abstract

In stark contrast to detailed studies of negative emo-

tions, peacebuilding scholar-practitioners pay scant

attention to the social psychology of positive emotions

that are critical for the long-term transformation of

relations among conflict actors. I offer results from one

case study of compassion, the first of its kind, of a

group of 23 young people from conflict-ridden coun-

tries who were enrolled in a 2-year peace education

program called Rondine. All of the research partici-

pants exhibited compassion for the civilians who suf-

fered from the effects of the violence. Most of them

exhibited compassion even for the militants who cau-

sed such violence.

Peacebuilding emerged as a distinct field in the mid-20th century by offering a revolutionary

perspective to the understanding and prevention of mass violence. In seeking to undermine the

dominance of classical realism in international relations, the architects of this revolution gave

centrality to the whole-person perspective of conflict actors. Such a perspective draws heavily

upon findings in social psychology that include the impact of collective emotions on hostile

relations among conflict actors. In some cases of mass violence, conflict protagonists instill their

followers with anger, fear, and hatred, which in turn tend to foster crystalized categories of

“their”evil and “our”purity. Visual images of the enemy's vile acts of brutality intensify the

emotional impact of these categories. From such categories, the imperative to vanquish the

enemy follows in lock-step fashion for anyone who loves their family, friends, and compatriots.

But attention to the positive psychology that underpins peacebuilding was, and continues to

be, relatively scant, even among the many scholar-practitioners who argue that sympathy,

trust-building, and mutual respect are critical for reversing the downward spiral of conflict rela-

tions. To my knowledge, there are very few deeply reflective, empirically sound, and academi-

cally current analyses by peacebuilding scholar-practitioners of the positive emotion of conflicts

actors. Among the few analyses that have been published, one study centers on the importance

of hope among conflict actors for advancing peacebuilding initiatives (Leshem &

Halperin, 2020). A second publication offers insight into the critical need to cultivate

Received: 10 September 2020 Revised: 18 February 2021 Accepted: 19 February 2021

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21299

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2021;38:261–282. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 261

compassion among conflict actors for preventing and recovering from periods of mass violence

(Gopin, 2020). This cultivation of compassion is the primary topic of this article.

Why compassion? The answer centers on the social psychology of intergroup relations

among conflict actors and the preconditions for the transformation of such relations. In cases of

protracted violence, such relations tend to be contaminated by negative emotions, such as

hatred, disdain, and fear of the enemy Other. According to intergroup emotions theory, such

emotions can spread like a contagion of negativity. With repetition of stories about the enemy's

brutality, a sense of righteous rage directed toward the enemy can sweep over the minds of con-

flict actors, serving as a psychological precondition for campaigns of mass violence. Such rage

can be exploited by political figures to galvanize “good people”to take action against the

enemy. One high-profile incident occurred on January 6, 2021 when the enraged supporters of

then President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Building while the Congress was validating

the results of the presidential election.

In contrast to such negative emotions, the promotion of positive emotions, such as compas-

sion, represents one critical element of the long-term transformation of conflict relations. The

possibility of fostering such compassion is guided by findings of social psychologists who have

shown that compassion is a distinct moral emotion that all mentally stable individuals can

experience in their relations with loved ones, friends, and people with a shared social identity.

Compassion is an other-centered emotion that is experienced with a sense of caring for those in

need. With this emotion, one acquires a sympathetic understanding of people who are unfairly

suffering and a hope that they will be relieved of such suffering. Of course, the particular occa-

sions when an individual feels compassion depends on their character traits, life experiences,

sense of self, and perceptions of others. In the context of protracted violent conflicts, conflict

actors are much more prone to show compassion to compatriots than they are to those living in

the enemy camp.

We should avoid thinking that conflict actors tend to lack compassion for anyone. In cases

of protracted violence, they do frequently experience compassion for their compatriots who

presumaby suffered from violence perpetrated by enemy militants. One challenge facing

scholar-practitioners of peacebuilding centers on understanding the potential for those living in

conflict regions to show compassion to those outgroup militants who are known to have killed

innocent civilians in the region of violent conflict. Such compassion is especially important for

those people living in a conflict region who are seeking to undermine the forces of violence and

to foster prosocial relations among conflict protagonists.

The purpose of this article is to present findings from a case study in which a group of young

people from conflict-ridden countries are being trained in peacebuilding. The primary mission

of such training is to instill in them the knowledge and skills needed for careers in

peacebuilding. In this study, the capacity of these trainees to experience compassion for the so-

called enemy militants operating in their home country was examined. This study is launched

with the following research questions: Does a group of young people who lived in regions rav-

aged by mass violence feel compassion for the so-called enemy militants who targeted civilian

noncombatants? If so, what rationale do the young people offer for feeling such compassion

given their knowledge of the large-scale suffering caused by such militants? If, on the other

hand, they feel no such compassion, how can they rationalize such feelings in light of their

understanding that the militants themselves are suffering from the effects of violent conflicts?

The research participants for this case study consist of a group of 23 young people from

conflict-ridden countries who were presented with questions regarding their compassion and

perspective-taking of the enemy Other. At the time that they answered these questions, the

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