The Politics of Acknowledgement

Truth Commissions in Uganda and Haiti

By Joanna R. Quinn
Categories: Law & Legal Studies, Political Science
Series: Law and Society
Publisher: UBC Press
Hardcover : 9780774818469, 208 pages, July 2010
Paperback : 9780774818476, 208 pages, January 2011
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774818483, 208 pages, January 2011
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Table of contents

1 Introduction

Part 1: Theoretical Model

2 The Politics of Acknowledgement

3 Truth Commissions

4 The Truth Commissions of Uganda and Haiti

Part 2: Analysis: Parallels between the Ugandan and Haitian Cases

5 Political Will

6 Institutional Constraints

7 Whither Acknowledgement?

8 Social Underpinnings

9 Acknowledgement: A New Lens for Evaluation

Appendices

Notes

Bibliography

Index

An examination of two failed truth commissions in Uganda and Haiti reveals the challenges that truth and reconciliation tribunals face in the transition from violence to peace.

Description

Human rights violations leave deep scars on people, societies, and nations. Rights groups argue that resolving past violence is necessary for a peaceful future. But how can nations ensure that instruments of transitional justice are the best path to reconciliation? This book develops a theoretical framework – a framework of acknowledgement – to evaluate truth commissions. Analysis of the difficulties encountered and the ultimate failure of truth commissions in Uganda and Haiti reveals that acknowledgement of past violence – by both victims and perpetrators – must come before goals such as forgiveness and social cohesion if reconciliation is to be achieved.