Erasmus+ BIP Seminar, Conflicts and Concord in History: Local and Global Perspectives, Paris 8 University (1-5.12.2025)
History is marked by conflicts and acts of force, as well as by compromises aimed at resolving them. Since Antiquity, conflict was considered an integral part of human life, so frequent that it was perceived as inherent to it, both in the form of internal opposition between socio-economically diverse groups and as a broader conflict between one state and another, with the involvement of allies on the fronts involved.
The states – and, more specifically, the “political community” that inhabits it – is something different from a dimension of human coexistence characterized by a static homogeneity of views. Therefore, the analysis of disagreements and attempts at reconciliation is extremely interesting for understanding the management of internal and inter-state politics. In this perspective, we will also reflect on the theoretical definition of concord and the forms in which it is, sometimes, achieved in practice. Concord is a condition of “affinity”, reached in most cases through compromise and resulting from a cognitive process of reflection and rational compromise. It thus becomes the antidote to conflict, as it presupposes the ability to find shared solutions based on the mutual expression of opinions and proposals, both within the state and various communities.