Dear Students,

We are pleased to invite you to the lecture delivered by Prof. Reza Hasmath „Saying Sorry: How States Can Effectively Aplogiza (and Have a Long-Lasting Positive Effect on the Aggrieved Party)” on 31 May at 15:00 in room 08.

Prof. Hasmath argues that most state apologies are about rehumanizing the apologizer. It is about re-establishing trust in the state, and signalling that the state will do better in the future. However, state apologies can also serve to rehumanize the apologized by bringing voice and awareness to the grievance, even to the extent of psychologically healing the aggrieved individuals and/or social group(s) affected.

He asks a crucial question: „In the rare instances where the explicit goal of state apologies is to rehumanize the apologize, what impact or effect does this have on the apologizer and apologized?

Based on behavioural economics, management, sociology and political science, he discusses the best and worst practices for nation states to make an apology that has a long-lasting, positive effect on the aggrieved party.

Reza Hasmath is a Full Professor in Political Science at the University of Alberta. He has previously held faculty positions in management, sociology and political science at the Universities of Toronto, Melbourne and Oxford, and has worked for think-tanks, consultancies, development agencies, and NGOs in the USA, Canada, Australia, UK and China.