Abstract
Compromise refers to mutually acceptable agreements. These can apply to relations between states and in inter-personal social relationships between people. This chapter notes the difference between political and social compromise and proceeds to provide a sociological approach to social compromise in inter-personal relations between people. It advances a sociological theorisation of social compromise, something which the discipline has hitherto neglected, and applies it to understanding the practice of compromise amongst victims of conflict in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka. It argues that the discipline of sociology can help us better understand social compromise, and the chapter sets out a prolegomenon towards the sociology of social compromise, drawing on data from three post-conflict societies.
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Notes
- 1.
The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, grant number F/100/152/AK and ran between 2009 and 2015. The methodology is outlined in Brewer et al. (2018a: 4–9). A rigorous sampling procedure was applied to ensure a random sample of victims was obtained unbiased towards socially desirable responses.
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Brewer, J.D. (2020). Towards a Sociology of Social Compromise: Social Compromise Amongst Victims of Conflict in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka. In: Baume, S., Novak, S. (eds) Compromises in Democracy. Palgrave Studies in Compromise after Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40802-2_9
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