Theorizing transitional justice

"This book addresses the theoretical underpinnings of the field of transitional justice, something that has hitherto been lacking both in study and practice. With the common goal of clarifying some of the theoretical profiles of transitional justice strategies, the study is organized along crucial intersections evaluating aspects connected to the genealogy, the nature, the scope and the most appropriate methodology for the study of transitional justice. The chapters also take up normative and political considerations pertaining to specific transitional instruments such as war crime tribunals, truth commissions, administrative purges, reparations, and historical commissions. Bringing together some of the most original writings from established experts as well as from promising young scholars in the field, the collection will be an essential resource for researchers, academics, and policy-makers in Law, Philosophy, Politics, and Sociology"--Unedited summary from book cover.

Part I. Is it always necessary to account for past wrongs? -- Forgetting after war : a qualified defense / Jack Volpe Rotondi and Nir Eisikovits -- Peace without the past? : truth, transition and the Northern Ireland case / Cheryl Lawther -- Part II. Punishing after war -- The force of forgetting or forced forgetting? : Schmittian amnesties and transitional justice / Juan Espindola -- Transitional justice, retributive justice and accountability for wrongdoing / Colleen Murphy -- Part III. Transitional justice as a vehicle of structural and institutional change -- Transitional justice as structural justice / Krista K. Thomason -- Justice seeking in settler states : a model for thinking about "justice" in transitional societies / Michael Phillips -- Structural causes of conflict and the superficiality of transition / Pádraig McAuliffe -- Part IV. Transitional justice and political reconciliation -- Reconcilable resentments? : Jean Améry's critique of forgiveness in the aftermath of atrocity / Grace Hunt -- A theory of national reconciliation : some insights from Africa / Thaddeus Metz -- Restoring human capability : reconciliation and liberal multiculturalism / Monica Mookherjee -- …