Transitional Justice and the Politics of Truth Commissions

This course tackles one of the most urgent questions in global politics today: what should societies do after mass violence, civil war, or state repression? Focusing on truth and reconciliation commissions as a central tool of transitional justice, we explore how countries confront histories of torture, disappearances, genocide, and systemic discrimination. Students are introduced to key concepts and debates in the interdisciplinary field of transitional justice, including truth versus justice, memory versus forgetting, amnesty versus prosecution, and individual versus collective responsibility. Through critical exploration of global case studies, including South Africa, Chile, Peru, Kenya, Liberia, Nepal, Panama, and Canada, we examine how truth commissions document abuses, seek accountability for state violence, and attempt to repair relationships between victims, perpetrators, and broader communities. We also engage contemporary challenges: how digital evidence and social media shape truth-telling; how commissions address gender-based and sexual violence; the politics of apology, reparations, and memorialization; and the limits of truth in deeply polarized societies. By the end of the course, students are equipped to critically assess when and how truth commissions help societies move forward—and when they risk deepening wounds or entrenching injustice.