Observing Memories Issue 4 | Page 86

Transitional Justice in

Comparative Perspective :

Preconditions for Success

El-Masri , Samar ; Tammy Lambert ; Joanna Quinn ( Eds .). ( 2020 ). Palgrave
Luis Ángel Gasca Triviño
REVIEW

BOOK

Undergraduate Student , Institute for the Study of Human Rights , Columbia University Fellowship student at EUROM ( 2020 )

Transitional Justice in Comparative Perspective : Preconditions for Success , edited by Samar El-Masri , Tammy Lambert and Joanna Quinn , is a volume of individual country case studies focusing on the societal and institutional preconditions that contribute to the effectiveness of transitional justice measures . The case studies span conflicts of various lengths and degrees of violence , including those in Colombia , the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ), Gambia , Lebanon , Palestine , and Uganda . Contributors include specialists in economic development , political science , transitional justice , data science , anthropology , among others . This diverse collection serves as an opportunity to analyze general procedures in transitional justice such as amnesties , truth commissions , and tribunals within the context of specific lenses and regions .

Though existing literature highlights the importance of implementing transitional justice that contextualizes specific conditions across regions , this volume provides concrete examples and data relating to the degree of efficacy of these measures in their specific countries . The editors of this collection recognize its potential as a comprehensive foundation for transitional justice professionals and scholars to expand our understanding of how certain preconditions can be established at a sociocultural and institutional level for individual country case studies beyond those addressed within the volume .
The preconditions , also described as “ ameliorating factors ,” include cultural diplomacy , judicial education , language used in peace agreements , microcredit incentives for disarmament , democratic uncertainty , among others . Chapters on democratic uncertainty ( i . e . cultivating trust in the prospect of greater democratic agency ), the changing use of “ victimhood ” within Colombia ’ s peace agreement , and the necessity of microcredit schemes in the DRC as a means of demobilization together demonstrate the comprehensive nature of the volume by validating and qualifying the notion of “ uncertainty ” after conflicts .
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