Unsettling Apologies

Recently, there has been a global resurgence of demands for the acknowledgement of historical and contemporary wrongs, as well as for apologies and reparation for harms suffered. Drawing on the histories of injustice, dispossession and violence in South Africa, this book examines the cultural, political and legal role and value of an apology. It examines the multiple ways in which ‘sorry’ is instituted, articulated and performed, and critically analyses its various forms and functions in both historical and contemporary moments. How, and indeed if, apologies are made and received, denied and accepted, and how they come to matter or not, draws us into unsettled territories. Configured through the past and the present, there are complex and interrelated social, cultural, legal and political meanings given to and constituted through the apology. These meanings emerge within prevailing cultures of apology and their relationship to histories, politics and laws that regulate, punish and remediate harm. The chapters explore various forms of apology – from the most intimate of settings to the level of state and structure – and problematise their consequences for reparation, reconciliation and justice in South Africa and beyond. The book seeks to grapple with understandings of why, in South Africa, we are so unsettled by issues of apology; but equally, to provide a critical contribution to contemporary demands for restitution. Bringing together an interdisciplinary team of contributors, the book’s analysis offers insights relevant to global debates on the struggle for justice.