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The Goldstone Commission in South Africa's Transition

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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 7-16-2020 1:00 PM The Goldstone Commission in South Africa’s Transition: Linking Gradual Institutional Change and Information-Gathering Institutions Tammy Lambert, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Quinn, Joanna R., The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science © Tammy Lambert 2020 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Comparative Politics Commons, and the Other Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Lambert, Tammy, "The Goldstone Commission in South Africa’s Transition: Linking Gradual Institutional Change and Information-Gathering Institutions" (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7147. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7147 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Used by states to investigate patterns of past human rights abuses, truth commissions have garnered considerable consensus for their value in addressing past harms and repression. Many still tout the South African model as a success story of truth commissions. This dissertation provides answers to two questions. First, what role, if any, did earlier investigative institutions play in shaping South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)? The dissertation argues that the Commission of Inquiry for the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation, also known as the Goldstone Commission, played a central role in transforming information- gathering measures in South Africa. Second, what were the contributing institutional developments of the Goldstone Commission, and how do we characterize these contributions? The dissertation argues that the Goldstone Commission’s founding conditions, its institutional design, and its impartial investigations, created the conditions for the process of gradual institutional change in the Goldstone Commission as a commission of inquiry. The Commission’s credibility helped to strengthen information gathering during the negotiating period in South Africa and facilitated further change in information-gathering capacities, including the incorporation of witness protection. The dissertation also traces gradual institutional change in the use of amnesty to situate its eventual implementation as an information-gathering mechanism by the TRC. The South African TRC benefited from the operation of the Goldstone Commission in terms of investigative credibility and institutional experience. This dissertation makes the case that to better understand truth commission design and operation it is necessary to take institutional histories into account. Keywords Commissions of inquiry, Commission of Inquiry for the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation, Goldstone Commission, gradual institutional change, South Africa, transitional justice, truth commission, Truth and Reconciliation Commission. ii Summary for a Lay Audience This dissertation offers an answer to the question: What role, if any, did earlier investigative institutions play in shaping South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)? I argue that the South African TRC was shaped, in part, by an investigative institution, the Commission of Inquiry for the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation (also known as the Goldstone Commission), that preceded it. I demonstrate the impact of the Goldstone Commission, examining its contributing institutional developments, and how we characterize these contributions. Three components of information gathering are studied in detail to explore how the Goldstone Commission helped to undo legacies of repression and, through its operation, laid a strong foundation for the operation of the TRC. These three institutions are the commission of inquiry, witness protection, and amnesty. Each of these institutions had a history of unjust use under the Apartheid regime. The dissertation argues that the Goldstone Commission’s founding conditions, its institutional design, and its impartial investigations, created the conditions for the process of gradual institutional change, in the Goldstone Commission as a commission of inquiry. The Commission’s credibility helped to strengthen information gathering during the negotiating period in South Africa and facilitated further change in information-gathering capacities, including the incorporation of witness protection. The dissertation also traces gradual institutional change in the use of amnesty to situate its eventual implementation as an information-gathering mechanism by the TRC. This dissertation makes the case that to understand truth commission design and operation, it is necessary to take institutional histories into account. Although truth commissions are established to address past harms and injustice, they may rely on institutions that were implicated in past abuse. Using the case of South Africa, this project offers insight into how existing institutions can be adjusted or re-tooled in order to serve ends of truth-seeking. This is significant not only for countries establishing truth commissions after periods of conflict and authoritarian repression but also for countries engaging with questions of justice and redress in established democracies. iii Acknowledgements The development of this project has been challenging and fulfilling and I would like to acknowledge those who have guided and supported me through this process. My supervisor, Joanna R. Quinn has been unwavering in her support. I am grateful for her insights, her constant encouragement, and her welcoming me into her sphere. Beyond the dissertation, she has been invested in my professional development since my arrival in London and I do not take for granted the opportunities that I have had because of her supervision. To the other members of my committee, Dr. Bruce Morrison and Dr. Stephen Brown, I express a great deal of gratitude for their suggestions to strengthen and solidify my argument. Dr. Morrison has been instrumental throughout the Ph.D. in helping me to develop my intrigue with puzzles of comparative politics in order to shape my work into a cohesive project. All errors, omissions, or oversights that remain in this work are mine alone. I extend a great deal of thanks and admiration to the people who gave valuable time to talk to me about this period in South Africa’s history. I would also like to acknowledge the staff at the various archives I visited in South Africa including: Wits Historical Papers at the William Cullen Library, the South African History Archive, the National Archives of South Africa, Special Collections at the University of Cape Town, the Parliamentary Library of South Africa, and the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. As requested by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, “I acknowledge that the research assistance provided by the staff of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory does not constitute an endorsement of my work, or any views contained therein, and should not be construed as such. Any conclusions I have reached are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or viewpoints of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.” Such a stipulation is equally applicable to all of the archival sites visited; conclusions drawn are my own. This project benefitted from funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program. Through the Department of Political Science at Western, I have made lifelong friends who are always ready to discuss ideas and whose collegiality helped me to stay grounded. My family has been a source of exceptional support, emotionally and materially. Without them, this project would not have been completed. Max has been a dogged source of encouragement throughout this project and the whole Ph.D. journey. He usually heard first about ideas, stumbling blocks, and developments. Despite my immersion into this work he continues to find ways to make sure every day has some fetch. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Summary for a Lay Audience ............................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Questions and Argument Overview ........................................................ 4 1.2 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 9 1.3 Concepts ................................................................................................................ 11 1.4 Chapter Outline ....................................................................................................
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