The Uses and Abuses of Local Transitional Justice Processes
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Justice Deflected: The Uses and Abuses of Local Transitional Justice Processes Adam Kochanski Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy in Political Science School of Political Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Adam Kochanski, Ottawa, Canada, 2017 Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vi List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................. ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 Existing Scholarship on Local Transitional Justice Processes ....................................... 5 Main Argument .............................................................................................................. 8 Theoretical Approach .............................................................................................. 10 Alternative Explanations ......................................................................................... 11 Principal Research Findings and Contributions to Scholarship ................................... 12 Organization of the Dissertation .................................................................................. 14 PART I: Foundations ..................................................................17 CHAPTER 1: The “Local Turn” in Transitional Justice ........................................... 18 Preface .......................................................................................................................... 18 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 21 Context and Concepts .................................................................................................. 22 What is Transitional Justice? .................................................................................. 22 The Origins and the Spread of Transitional Justice ............................................... 25 The Turn Towards the Local ........................................................................................ 28 Scholarly Debates ................................................................................................... 29 Policy Developments ............................................................................................... 37 Defining Local Transitional Justice ........................................................................ 45 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 2: Deflecting Justice Through Distortional Framing .............................. 49 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 49 Existing Literature ........................................................................................................ 50 Prevailing Positive Assessments of Local Transitional Justice .............................. 50 Main Argument ............................................................................................................ 65 Motives .................................................................................................................... 69 ii Means ...................................................................................................................... 71 Consequences .......................................................................................................... 72 Theoretical Approach ................................................................................................... 73 Alternative Explanations ......................................................................................... 78 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 80 PART II: Case Studies ................................................................82 CHAPTER 3: Methodology and Introduction to the Case Studies ............................ 83 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 83 Case Study Approach ................................................................................................... 83 Case Selection ......................................................................................................... 84 Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................. 87 Structured Focused Comparison ............................................................................. 87 Process Tracing ....................................................................................................... 88 Data Sources and Analysis ........................................................................................... 89 Primary Data Sources: Interviews and Fieldwork ................................................. 90 Secondary Data Sources ......................................................................................... 91 Research Ethics ............................................................................................................ 92 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 92 CHAPTER 4: Narrating the “Truth” about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia .......... 93 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 93 Background .................................................................................................................. 95 Transitional Justice ............................................................................................... 101 Framing Transitional Justice ...................................................................................... 104 Distorting the Frame ............................................................................................. 104 Temporal Limits .................................................................................................... 104 Wartime Identity .................................................................................................... 109 Motives for Distortional Framing .............................................................................. 116 Enforcing the Frame at the Local Level ..................................................................... 121 Consequences of Distortional Framing ...................................................................... 125 Memorialization .................................................................................................... 126 Psychosocial Healing Methods ............................................................................. 134 Truth-Telling Practices ......................................................................................... 139 Alternative Explanations ............................................................................................ 144 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 148 CHAPTER 5: “Reconciliation” without Acknowledgement in Mozambique ......... 151 iii Introduction ................................................................................................................ 151 Background ................................................................................................................ 152 Framing Transitional Justice ...................................................................................... 158 Distorting the Frame ............................................................................................. 158 Temporal Limits .................................................................................................... 159 Wartime Identity .................................................................................................... 163 Motives for Distortional Framing .............................................................................. 169 Enforcing the Frame at the Local Level ..................................................................... 178 Consequences of Distortional Framing ...................................................................... 185 Memorialization .................................................................................................... 186 Psychosocial Healing Methods and Reintegration Rituals ................................... 194 Traditional Courts ................................................................................................. 201 Alternative Explanations 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