How can we build peace when revenge exists?
Marie Robin, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, discusses in Le 1 Hebdo, Radio France, RFI and The Conversation how revenge, often condemned as destructive, might serve as a material to grasp what societies consider just, in order to discuss peace.
Drawing on historical and contemporary conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Khartoum and the Kivus, Robin examines how the idea of vengeance continues to shape political and moral responses to violence. She calls for a dual movement: the strict prohibition of acts of revenge, as forms of violence that hinder peace, as well as a greater use of restorative justice tools to study the actors' “claims of revenge” (i.e., when an actor presents vengeance as a right or a duty) to 'create an open dialogue of revenge, in the service of peace.'
In Le 1 Hebdo, Robin discusses how modern warfare is shaped not only by strategic considerations but also by emotional, symbolic and discursive elements, revenge being one of them. She observes that throughout history, states and movements have used revenge 'not only to explain violence but also to legitimise it.' Despite its negative moral connotations, vengeance is often used to legitimise, thus reflecting a normative ambivalence and deeper questions of justice and dignity. Her new book, La Vengeance et la Paix (CNRS Éditions), highlights these contradictions, showing how the desire for revenge can both undermine and inspire efforts towards peace.
On France Culture’s Les enjeux internationaux, she shows how acts of revenge in Ukraine or Gaza leads to escalation, and highlights the role of revenge as a strategic grammar in conflict.
In an RFI podcast, Robin asks: 'Should one outright exclude revenge to make peace, or is the situation more complex?' Contemporary conflict analysis shows that some states, even those claiming liberal values, invoke revenge as a right or as a form of justice.
In The Conversation, Robin maps how revenge discourse links past and present, suggesting that engaging with it may open pathways towards a more just peace. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, she shows that revenge is both 'an obstacle to peace and a possible foundation for a just peace.' Understanding these claims and grievances, she stresses, is key to lasting reconciliation.
As Robin concludes, 'what we wish to see avenged often tells us what we believe to be just.' Her work challenges readers to rethink vengeance not only as a source of conflict but also as a material to be studied in the pursuit of a just and enduring peace.
Read the full articles or listen to the podcast on the website of RFI podcast, Radio France, Le1 Hebdo & The Conversation