The Politics Of Memory: Transitional Justice in Democratizing Societies (Oxford Studies in Democratization) - Softcover

De Brito, Alexandra Barahona

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199240906 ISBN 13: 9780199240906

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2001

Synopsis

One of the most important political and ethical issues faced during a political transition from authoritarian or totalitarian to democratic rule is how to deal with legacies of repression. This book explores the 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.

About this title

Review

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)

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199240906
• ISBN 13: 9780199240906
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 440