Truth and Reconciliation Commissions: the Road to Democracy and Rule of Law? Julie Ann Keil Wayne State University
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Wayne State University Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2014 Truth And Reconciliation Commissions: The Road To Democracy And Rule Of Law? Julie Ann Keil Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Keil, Julie Ann, "Truth And Reconciliation Commissions: The Road To Democracy And Rule Of Law?" (2014). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 893. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSIONS: THE ROAD TO DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW? by JULIE A. KEIL DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2014 MAJOR: POLITICAL SCIENCE Approved by: __________________________________________ Advisor Date __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my colleagues at Saginaw Valley State University who have supported me through this long process, helping cover classes for me, listened to my woes and offered suggestions when badly needed. It is also dedicated to my high school student granddaughter, Trieu- Giang Le, who after listening to me talk about this dissertation for the past five years probably knows more about TRCs than most political scientists. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge Dr. Irvin D. Reid, the former president of Wayne State University and who offered me the opportunity to conduct field research in Liberia through Wayne State’s African Democracy Project. That research led to the case study below on Liberia and the chance to act as an election observer was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would also like acknowledge Dr. John Strate whose astute advice on statistical testing made the data chapter. Lastly I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Timothy Carter, formerly of Wayne State University who helped to formulate the hypothesis and the data used in this dissertation. From Saginaw Valley State University I would like acknowledge Mr. Mark Nicol who provided immense guidance but more importantly patience while guiding me through the data analysis and Dr. Erik Trump who never let me feel inadequate for my failings in writing a literature review. Most importantly I would like to acknowledge Dr. Sharon Lean who inspired me to keep going and to finish this process and thought taking me to Liberia to study election monitoring would help the process. iii PREFACE Freedom under law is like the air we breathe. People take it for granted and are unaware of it--until they are deprived of it. What does the rule of law mean to us in everyday life? Let me quote the eloquent words of Burke: "The poorest man may, in his cottage, bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storms may enter; the rain may enter--but the King of England cannot enter; all his forces dare not cross the threshold of that ruined tenement!" But the rule of law does more than ensure freedom from high-handed action by rulers. It ensures justice between man and man however humble the one and however powerful the other. A man with five dollars in the bank can call to account the corporation with five billion dollars in assets--and the two will be heard as equals before the law (Dwight D. Eisenhower, Statement on the Observance of Law Day, 1958). iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication __________________________________________________________________________ ii Acknowledgement ___________________________________________________________________ iii Preface ____________________________________________________________________________ iv List of Tables ________________________________________________________________________ ix List of Figures _______________________________________________________________________ x Abbrevations ________________________________________________________________________ xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION-THE PLACE OF TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSIONS IN TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE ________________________________________________________________ 1 Transitional Justice and the Evolution of Truth Commissions ____________________________ 2 TRCs Compared to Other Forms of Transitional Justice ________________________________ 6 TRCs and Democracy and Rule of Law ______________________________________________ 8 CHAPTE R TWO: TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE, DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW: THE QUESTION OF CAUSALITY _________________________________________________________________________ 14 Transitional Justice and the Place of TRCs __________________________________________ 15 The Role of TRCs in Improving Democracy _________________________________________ 17 Rule of Law and TRCs __________________________________________________________ 26 Amnesties and Their Role in Transitional Justice_____________________________________ 34 The Effect of Conflict Intensity ___________________________________________________ 42 CHAPTER THREE: DATA AND METHODOLOGY _____________________________________________ 45 Case Selection _______________________________________________________________ 46 Control Group: States With Conflicts That Did Not Conduct a TRC _______________________ 52 Data Challenges __________________________________________________________ 56 Variables and Datasets Used ____________________________________________________ 57 v Cumulative Intensity of Conflict _________________________________________________ 62 Case Studies-Liberia and Mozambique ____________________________________________ 61 Quantitative Tests ____________________________________________________________ 63 Means Tests __________________________________________________________ 63 Multivariate Regression Analysis Tests ______________________________________ 64 Case Studies-Liberia and Mozambique ____________________________________________ 65 CHAPTER FOUR: DO TRCS WORK? ______________________________________________________ 67 The Relationship Between TRCS and Democracy ____________________________________ 69 Comparison of TRCs and Amnesties and Improvement in Democracy ____________________ 75 The Effect of the Intensity of the Conflict on Democracy Scores ________________________ 78 Conclusions Regarding the Relationship Between TRCs and Democracy __________________ 80 The Relationship Between TRCs and the Rule of Law _________________________________ 85 Comparison of TRCs and Amnesties and Improvement in the Rule of Law ________________ 91 The Effect of the Intensity of the Conflict on the Rule of Law Scores _____________________ 94 The Effect of Corrected Polity IV Democracy Score on Rule of Law ______________________ 96 Conclusions Regarding the Relationship Between TRCs and Rule of Law __________________ 97 CHAPTER FIVE: LIBERIA AND THE STRUGGLE TO FIND BALANCE ______________________________ 101 Background-Liberia __________________________________________________________ 103 History of the Conflict ________________________________________________________ 104 The Beginning of the Civil Wars _________________________________________________ 107 History of Liberian Democracy __________________________________________________ 110 The Decision to Conduct a TRC in Liberia _________________________________________ 112 Measures of Democracy in Liberia_______________________________________________ 115 The Relationship Between the TRC and Democracy in Liberia _________________________ 116 vi The Relationship Between the TRC and Rule of Law in Liberia _________________________ 127 The Effect of the de facto Amnesty on Liberia _____________________________________ 135 Conclusion _________________________________________________________________ 138 CHAPTER SIX: MOZAMBIQUE-FORGIVE AND FORGET ______________________________________ 141 Background-Mozambique _____________________________________________________ 142 History of the Conflict ________________________________________________________ 143 The Civil War in Mozambique __________________________________________________ 145 History of Mozambican Democracy ______________________________________________ 147 Transitional Justice and Democracy in Mozambique ________________________________ 150 Measures of Democracy in Mozambique _________________________________________ 155 The Effect a “Forgive and Forget” Policy on Rule of Law ______________________________ 160 The Effect of Amnesty on Mozambique __________________________________________ 168 Comparison of Mozambique and Liberia __________________________________________ 171 CHAPTER SEVEN: ARE TRCS BENEFICIAL TO A STATE SEEKING DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW? ____ 175 The Relationship Between TRCs and Democracy ___________________________________ 176 TRCs as Opposed to Amnesty and Democracy _____________________________________ 180 The Relationship Between TRCs and Rule of Law ___________________________________ 182 TRCs as Opposed to Amnesty and Rule of Law _____________________________________ 184 The Relationship Between Cumulative Intensity and Democracy and Rule of Law _________ 186 Strengthening of the Legal System ______________________________________________ 186 Changes in Democracy and Rule of Law that