The Aftermath of Atrocity: A Course on Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Volledige vakbeschrijving
The first part of the course invites students to study international crimes from a cultural criminological perspective. Central to this approach is the insight that violent conflict and crime are made into what they are by all those involved. Crime is thus not simply a given, it is made into what it is before, during, and after it has occurred by stakeholders such as bystanders, perpetrators, and victims who all engage in an dynamic interactional process through which crime is socially constructed. For many people the crime of genocide is a given, but like other crimes its definition is the outcome of a dynamic process that was influenced by many complicating factors. Criminological labelling theory raises the question whether certain actions are inherently criminal or is crime a label that we apply to behavior that we for some reasons find problematic. We will address these questions and look into how international crimes are constructed and renegotiated in academic, legal, political and public discourse. The next part will focus on what in criminological literature is referred to as motivational accounting. We will look into how those involved in conflict and crime use neutralizing and rationalizing narrative accounts to make sense of their actions. The second part of the course will start with an elaboration of the term “transitional justice” by using the main concepts of restorative and retributive justice. We will address several transitional justice mechanisms and in this analysis we will predominantly focus on the perspectives of the victims. Victims (and survivors) are not only a group, but also individual human beings and their wishes and interests in the aftermath of large scale conflict can be very diverse and even contradict the wishes of other victims or the group as such. What are their interests and what are their views on transitional justice including possibilities of remedy and reparation? In discussing the mechanisms of transitional justice, attention is paid to the following mechanisms: apologies, commemoration, truth telling, impunity, compensation, restoration, international and regional criminal tribunals, etc. The course will be concluded with a discussion of these various justice mechanisms and their potential to contribution to sustainable peace. In this course cases play an important role and throughout the course a wide variety of cases will be addressed including Rwanda, Peru, Cambodia, Burundi, Darfur, Bosnia, East Timor, Iraq, Syria, Congo, Central African Republic, etc.Doelstellingen van dit vak
•Introduction to the criminological study of international crimes, with a focus on cultural criminological theories and insights that are particularly relevant to understanding international crimes and other gross human rights violations. The important role that language plays in conflict and international crime is especially highlighted. •An understanding of transitional justice and how to deal with grave historical injustices from the past. Although the course addresses the roles of many different actors, the role of the victim will receive specific and more substantial attention. •An overview of different instruments for transitional justice such as apologies, commemoration, truth telling, impunity, compensation, restoration, international and regional criminal tribunals, etc.Voorwaarden
Courses in law or sociology or political science or international relations or psychology or history and at least two 200 level courses in Social Sciences.Aanbevolen literatuur
•E-readers.Instructional Format
Tutorial group meetings, compulsory lectures and screening of documentaries.
Examinations
A midterm take-home exam with open-ended essay questions and a final take-home exam consisting of a paper.
SSC3052
Periode 5
8 apr 2024
7 jun 2024
Studiepunten:
5.0Coördinator:
Onderwijsmethode:
Lecture(s), PBLEvaluatiemethoden:
Take home exam, Written exam, Assignment