The Intellectual Roots of Transitional Justice: An Introduction Vincent Charles Keating Center for War Studies Marie Robin L'institut d'études politiques de Paris

Transitional Justice “response to systematic or widespread violations of human rights [that] seeks recognition for victims and the promotion of possibilities for peace, reconciliation and democracy” “not a special form of justice but justice adapted to societies transforming themselves after a period of pervasive human rights abuse”

Transitional Justice “response to systematic or widespread violations of human rights [that] seeks recognition for victims and the promotion of possibilities for peace, reconciliation and democracy” “not a special form of justice but justice adapted to societies transforming themselves after a period of pervasive human rights abuse”

Contentious Terms Transitional How different is it from non-transitional justice? How does it interact with non-transitional justice? What determines the length of the transitional period? Who is included/not included in the transition? Justice When is it appropriate to move from non-transitional to transitional justice? What are the ethical goals for the process? Are the ethical goals synergistic or oppositional? How do the transitional ethical goals interact pre-existing social norms?

Potential Justice Goals Political Peace Liberal democracy (positive peace?) Social Recognition Reconciliation Judgmental/Punitive Establishing social truth (through dialogue) Reparations

Historicity of the Transitional Justice Transitional justice as a socially/historically bounded concept Particularly as a less-institutionalized form of justice? Actors make decisions about the nature of transitional justice based on: The nature of the problem that transitional justice is to solve/alleviate Historical practice/norms of transitional justice Strength of other prevailing social norms Transitional justice is not simply ‘something’; it is part of a mutually constituted historical process, where agents act to change an environment that, at the same time, structures their agency

Importance of Intellectual History Intellectual history can help us to Avoid presentism Understand the existence/strength of the current norms of transitional justice Understand the reasons for fundamental disagreement over different interpretations of transitional justice Reflect on whether our present position makes ethical sense by opening up previous situated arguments/practices