Transitional Justice as Universal Narrative

Abstract

In a society where transitional justice is subject to political constraints that thwart the documentation of crimes through ordinary legal trials, truth commissions can offer an alternative. Do they, or any other constituents of transitional justice, engender reconciliation and healing?

Jon Elster is a Norwegian philosopher and sociologist who received his doctorate from the Sorbonne. The author of numerous works, he is the Robert K. Merton Professor of Social Sciences at Columbia University, professeur titulaire at the Collège de France, and member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. This text was originally presented orally on 29 May 2008 under the title “Introduction: Transitional Justice in Perspective.” It was translated by Benn E. Williams. All footnotes are the translator’s.