Transitional Justice in Comparative Perspective

Samar El-Masri is Adjunct Professor at both the Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction at The University of Western Ontario and the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University, Canada.
Tammy Lambert is Researcher in Political Science and Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction at The University of Western Ontario.
Joanna R. Quinn is Director of the Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction at The University of Western Ontario.

What if we could change the conditions in post-conflict/post-authoritarian countries to make transitional justice work better? This book argues that if the context in countries in need of transitional justice can be ameliorated before processes of transitional justice are established, they are more likely to meet with success. As the contributors reveal, this can be done in different ways. At the attitudinal level, changing the broader social ethos can improve the chances that societies will be more receptive to transitional justice. At the institutional level, the capacity of mechanisms and institutions can be strengthened to offer more support to transitional justice processes. Drawing on lessons learned in Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Gambia, Lebanon, Palestine, and Uganda, the book explores ways to better the conditions in post-conflict/post-authoritarian countries to improve the success of transitional justice.

Identifies the challenges and the factors that hinder progress and prevent the applied transitional justice mechanism from reaching its desired outcome

1  Changing the Context: Can conditions be created that are more conducive to transitional justice success?.- 2  Tractionless Transitional Justice in Uganda: The Potential for Thin Sympathetic Interventions as Ameliorating Factor.- 3  The Role of Democratic Uncertainty in the Interplay between Transitional Justice and Democratisation.- 4 The Importance of Modifying the Context Before Introducing Amnesty and Prosecutions: The Case of Lebanon.- 5  Victims of Language: Language as a Pre-Condition of Transitional Justice in Colombia's Peace Agreement.- 6  Transitional Justice in the Wake of Resource Wars.- 7  "Some Reasons Are Obvious, Some Are not." The Gambian Experience with Transitional Justice.- 8  Institutional Trustworthiness, Transformative Judicial Education and Transitional Justice: A Palestinian Experience.- 9  Moving Forward: The possibilities that obtain from ameliorating the context to create conditions for success.