PSIR421 TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
Course Content
How do states or societies that have suffered massive human rights abuses deal with the complex legacies of their past as they transition to peace and democracy? What can policymakers or activists do to defuse the bitterness of past conflict or repression and meet rhetorical and political demands for justice? This course examines the ethical, political, legal, and practical challenges that states face when trying to overcome the legacy of a violent past. It begins by looking at the development of transitional justice as field of political and social activism, including its relationship to political science and international law. It sets out the developing legal framework that supports such activism, as well as the practical constraints and ethical dilemmas that both characterize such contexts and make transitional justice such a complicated field.
