The Politics of Memory and Democratization: Transitional Justice in Democratizing Societies (Oxford Studies in Democratization) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199240809 ISBN 13: 9780199240807

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2001

Synopsis

One of the most important political and ethical questions faced during a political transition from authoritarian or totalitarian to democratic rule is how to deal with legacies of repression. Indeed, some of the most fundamental questions regarding law, morality and politics are raised at such times, as societies look back to understand how they lost their moral and political compass, failing to contain violence and promote the values of tolerance and peace. The Politics of Memory and Democratization sheds light on this important aspect of transitional politics, assessing how Portugal, Spain, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Germany after reunification, Russia, the Southern Cone of Latin America and Central America, as well as South Africa, have confronted legacies of repression. The book examines the presence - or absence - of three types of official efforts to come to terms with the past: truth commissions, trials and amnesties, purges. In addition, it looks at unofficial initiatives emerging from within society, usually involving human rights organisations (HROs), churches or political parties. Where relevant, it also examines the 'politics of memory,' whereby societies re-work the past in an effort to come to terms with it, both during the transitions and long after official transitional policies have been implemented or forgotten. The book also assesses the significance of forms of reckoning with the past for a process of democratization or democratic deepening. It also offers analyses made 'from the inside' as well as 'from the outside in.' In other words, it focuses on how national elites and civil societies deal with the past and also analyses the role of international actors. This is important, as external players are becoming increasingly influential in shaping national policy where human rights are concerned.

About this title

Review

The editors have injected an impressive degree of structure and analytical coherence into the book, a considerable achievement given the wide range of case studies. The introductory and concluding analysis will prove instructive and accessible for those less engaged in work on the particular case studies ... the thoughtful analysis provided by the authors will serve as a key reference point for future debates. (Nations and Nationalism)

An introduction written by the three editors provides an excellent, comprehensive overview of both the book's principal theoretical arguments, and, helpfully, the factual findings underpinning these. (Nations and Nationalism)

The outstanding merit of this book lies in its value as a reference text. The excellent bibliographical survey of the literature includes web-based material and surveys the main debates about transitional truth and justice, compensation and restitution, the politics of memory including issues of commemoration ... The icing on the rich cake of this book is provided by the 54 pages of references cited by the various authors, and including references for the works included in the bibliographical essay. The scholarship is apparent, and the value of this work - as a reference, and a detached, legal and scientific analysis in a field that is often heavy with emotion - is clear. (The Global Review of Ethnopolitics)

The chapters on countries/regions provide valuable insights into the specifics of the case studies they examine, and also contribute insights that have broader applicability. Many of these broader insights are brought together in the impressive encyclopedic analysis contained in the conclusion. (The Global Review of Ethnopolitics)

The book's overall conclusions on truth processes and commissions are particularly of interest to a Northern Ireland audience, where the debate continues about the viability or desirability of some formal truth process. (The Global Review of Ethnopolitics)

Highly recommended to students of transitions to democracy, human rights lawyers and activists, politicians and constitution-designers involved in the framing of institutions of new democracies and to the general public interested in the difficult struggles of Truth and Justice. (Democratization)

This interdisciplinary study is a welcome addition to the literature ... the book maintains an internal coherence, an aim difficult to achieve in this kind of collective work. It is an illuminating interdisciplinary contribution to the topic, enriched from different perspectives and disciplines. (Democratization)

About the Author

Alexandra Barahona De Brito is at Princeton University. Carmen Gonzalez Enriquez is at Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (U.N.E.D.).

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199240809
• ISBN 13: 9780199240807
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 440
• Editor: Brito Alexandra Barahona De, Gonzalez Enriquez Carmen, Aguilar Paloma