What are the links and boundaries between transitional justice and development? What can transitional justice contribute to development? This book chapter published by the Social Science Research Council argues that transitional justice promotes social integration, and it is in this capacity that it overlaps with and may serve the interests of development. Transitional justice has a norm-affirming role, and can enhance recognition, trust, and political participation, helping to strengthen inclusive, participatory citizenship. Citizenship stands in both an instrumental and a constitutive relationship with justice and with development.
The broader one’s understanding of development, the greater its conceptual overlap with transitional justice. For example, atrocities and the legacies of unaddressed atrocities arguably undermine most of the basic capabilities in Nussbaum’s version of a capability account of development. The notion of social capital also helps to demonstrate the relevance of past massive rights violations to development work; those who experience serious human rights violations are often left with a deep, abiding sense of fear and uncertainty, and further ‘spillover effects’ apply to significantly larger groups.
Many transitional and post-conflict societies face immense developmental challenges, and many developing countries face abiding ‘justice deficits’ concerning massive past human rights abuses. The possibility of implementing transitional justice measures depends on the satisfaction of developmental preconditions to which transitional justice promoters have not always been sufficiently attuned.
- Greater consideration of the developmental preconditions of justice may facilitate sequencing that is sensitive to both justice and development concerns.
- One of the tasks of transitional justice relevant to development is to re-establish the force of norms and the strength and reliability of institutions. To the extent that the norms that are broken are basic norms, not just in the breach but in their unredressed breach, they are not satisfied for anyone.
- There are important questions concerning the level of resources that transitional societies should invest in ‘dealing with the past’ before operative institutions are in place – institutions which address citizens’ urgent needs in situations of scarcity.
Transitional justice interventions have not so far been designed with an eye to their developmental potential, nor been integrated into development strategies. It is likely however that these ‘indirect’ links will be the most significant.
- Transitional justice measures seek, among other aims, to provide recognition to victims, to promote civic trust, and to strengthen the democratic rule of law. They achieve these goals (to the extent that they do) through their norm-affirming potential. The goals connect with development because ‘adverse terms of recognition’, lack of trust, and weak or inoperative democratic rule of law are obstacles to development.
- A second version of the same argument can be framed in terms of the notion of citizenship (including robust participatory rights); transitional justice measures can be seen as mechanisms of social integration, enabling the activity and participation of citizens who were previously excluded and marginalised. These efforts likewise hinge on the possibility of giving force to general procedures and norms.
- This process involves not just turning victims into citizens but strengthening inclusive citizenship. While it cannot be achieved by transitional justice on its own, it may be the most significant contribution transitional justice can make to development.
