Critical Engagement with Transitional Justice: Perspectives from Africa and Latin America

Colombia and South Africa experienced two of the longest civil conflicts since the Second World War. Both underwent intensive, tenuous and difficult negotiations in order to end their respective conflicts peacefully. What does it mean in such contexts to bring about “transitional justice?” What values and interests tend to drive transitional justice processes, and what aspects of justice tend to be overlooked? How can societies address key forms of injustice that formal transitional justice processes downplay or omit? What were the comparative successes, failures and difficulties that face societies after conflict in their quest for greater democracy, human rights and social justice? This interdisciplinary panel will offer a comparative cross-regional discussion of transitional justice. Leading scholars from Africa and Latin America will share insights about macro-level commonalities in transitional justice processes across diverse societies. They will also examine how those high-level dynamics have affected micro-level social, civil and political dynamics in the various countries they study, work and live in—and thus the experiences of ordinary survivors seeking remedies to continuing injustice.

Participating speakers:

Litheko Modisane(University of Cape Town)
Keith Vermeulen (Methodist Church of Southern Africa)
Alejandro Castillejo-Cuellar (Universidad de los Andes)
Gustavo Jose Rojas Paez (Universidad Libre de Colombia)

Yazier Henry (University of Michigan) as moderator

Hosted as part of the Ford School's Conversations Across Difference Initiative.